Don't Talk, Just Do

Basic Black After The Broadcast: Who Should Have Created the MLK Memorial?

2012-01-14T15:26:00.001-08:00

Basic Black Live: New Protests, New Leadership

2012-01-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

Xavier University MLK Celebration Keynote: Young People in the Civil Rights Movement

2011-10-09T11:31:00.001-07:00

Hispanic Black Gay Coalition Keynote Address Part 1

2011-10-09T07:25:00.001-07:00

Hispanic Black Gay Coalition Keynote Address Part 2

2011-10-09T07:20:00.001-07:00

Hispanic Black Gay Coalition Keynote Address Part 3

2011-10-09T07:19:00.001-07:00

2011-09-22T19:16:00.001-07:00

Troy Anthony Davis’ Last Words | NAACP

2011-09-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Troy Anthony Davis’ Last Words | NAACP

KINDRED POLITICAL RHETORIC: BLACK MAYORS, PRESIDENT OBAMA, AND THE UNIVERSALIZING OF BLACK INTERESTS - PERRY - 2011 - Journal of Urban Affairs - Wiley Online Library

2011-09-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

KINDRED POLITICAL RHETORIC: BLACK MAYORS, PRESIDENT OBAMA, AND THE UNIVERSALIZING OF BLACK INTERESTS - PERRY - 2011 - Journal of Urban Affairs - Wiley Online Library

2011 40 Under Forty: Ravi K. Perry | Worcester Business Journal

2011-08-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

2011 40 Under Forty: Ravi K. Perry | Worcester Business Journal

Gay Leaders at NAACP, Wanda Sykes, Don Lemon; Before Lady Gaga's Born Th...

2011-08-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

What Does the NAACP Stand For Now?

2011-07-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/07/24/what-does-the-naacp-stand-for-now/read/chats/

"A Movement of a King"

2011-05-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com - Sen. Brown: Create Mass. minority House district

2011-04-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com - Sen. Brown: Create Mass. minority House district

Basic Black, WGBH

2011-04-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Basic Black, WGBH, Post Show Online Exclusive

2011-04-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Callie Crossley Show Interview

2011-04-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

9 million U.S. adults say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, study finds

2011-04-12T04:52:00.000-07:00

9 million U.S. adults say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, study finds

First openly gay judge nominated to SJC

2011-04-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

First openly gay judge nominated to SJC

Minority voting power is focus of redistricting campaign

2011-04-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

Minority voting power is focus of redistricting campaign

NAACP diversifies its leadership, agenda - USATODAY.com

2011-03-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

NAACP diversifies its leadership, agenda - USATODAY.com

New NAACP seeing more gay, diverse chapter leaders

2011-03-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

New NAACP seeing more gay, diverse chapter leaders

Obama, Roussef Pledge More LGBT Protections

2011-03-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Obama, Roussef Pledge More LGBT Protections

NAACP Worcester elects 28-year-old gay political science professor as new chapter president :: The Republic

2011-03-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

NAACP Worcester elects 28-year-old gay political science professor as new chapter president :: The Republic

Telegram.com - An edition of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Sunday Telegram

2011-03-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

"28-year-old gay man elected NAACP Worcester chief"

Newly reorganized, NAACP elects officers

2011-03-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Newly reorganized, NAACP elects officers

Worcester NAACP chapter elects committee members

2011-03-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

Worcester NAACP chapter elects committee members

NAACP LEADERSHIP 500 SUMMIT

2011-03-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

NAACP LEADERSHIP 500 SUMMIT

NAACP Worcester Swearing-in of Elected board 3/5/11

2011-03-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

NAACP Worcester Elections 3/5/11

2011-03-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

A Statement for Everyone

2011-02-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

As an openly gay Black citizen of the United States and professor, I am proud to acknowledge and receive the news that President Obama’s administration has chosen to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law in 1996. DOMA denies married same-sex couples over 1,000 rights, benefits and responsibilities tied to marriage under federal law.

For more information, visit: http://www.rollcall.com/news/-203607-1.html

This statement is not only a testament to the equal rights of non-heterosexual persons living in the United States. However, this decision, by a former constitutional law professor, the first Black president, and through the office of the Attorney General, Eric Holder (the first African American to serve in that capacity), is a thunderous, bold declaration to all that marriage equality is a civil rights issue worthy of aggressive defense.

Given the history of marriage equality debates in the United States, and particularly within the African American community, President Obama, undoubtedly, has drawn a line in the sand for many Blacks, as most still believe homosexuality is an immoral choice. He is sure to have to mend relationships with many Black religious communities as he seeks re-election in 2012.

Yet, this statement reminds me of the ‘Senator Obama’ Americans fell in love with and wanted to be president in 2008. Americans elected a president who they believed would represent a steady, principled approach to American problems. One such ‘problem’ is the continued federal support for discriminatory actions, such as the administration’s defense of a law that is unjust.

I am encouraged that President Obama has chosen to follow the spirit of Dr. King who reminds us that, “an unjust law, is no law at all.”

The fact that this declaration is to be enforced by a black president and a black attorney general is historic. The religiously conservative Black community will now have to wrestle with the fact that the two highest-ranking black officials in the country, whom they overwhelmingly elected in 2008, are making a clear stand for marriage equality, albeit indirectly.

While DOMA will still remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or a judge strikes it down, and the administration is still obligated to enforce the law, the fact that the solicitor general will no longer be defending its constitutionality is monumental.

This statement changes, not only America, but also will likely force changes within the Black community concerning many religious leaders’ approach to marriage equality. It has, indeed, changed my life. To know that the president of the United States and the Attorney General believe my right to marry is constitutional, is profound. It is fitting that this statement is made during Black history. For, President Obama and Attorney General Holder have indeed made history, as Black Americans, with this bold statement.

Raviperry.com Site launched

2011-01-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

The website http://www.raviperry.com is officially launched! Please bookmark it and visit often for updates on, well, everything!

Emanuel's Chicago

2011-01-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

It appears Emanuel will likely be Chicago's next mayor if history is any indication. Unless Blacks vote in droves for Moseley-Braun, Emanuel's support is unlikely to be diminished.

“The King In You”

2011-01-16T10:52:00.001-08:00

In June 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., first uttered his ‘dream’ to 500,000 onlookers at the Great March on Detroit. He summed up the social movement this way: “we want all of our rights, we want them here, and we want them now.” First bellowed in Detroit and made famous two months later in Washington, D.C., the dream has been recorded as one of the greatest speeches ever. At age 34, King changed the world. But the dream began much earlier. Beginning at the age of 26, Dr. King did what most consider an impossibility – he devoted his life to seriously eradicating injustice. And, what’s really interesting, is that older people in the Montgomery, Alabama community where King got his start trusted a younger person with that powerful role of leader. How often does that happen today? How many young people have tried to introduce an initiative, lead a change or just make something happen and it’s the older people who place the roadblocks in their way?

Young people and older leaders working together is what made a successful movement. It must be stated that we likely would not honor King had it not been for E.D. Nixon. Without Nixon’s insurgence, the nation would not know Martin Luther King, Jr. and the movement’s beginnings would have been written so drastically differently. It was Nixon who helped bail Rosa Parks out of jail and solicited the help of white liberal lawyers when she landed in jail. An organizer for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and a long time member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), it was because of his foresight that we honor King’s birthday - as he thought people would pay attention to Parks’ arrest because of her relationship to the NAACP; he thought that it would be good to capitalize on the opportunity to start a boycott.

It was E. D. Nixon who called Martin Luther King, Jr. to ask whether or not the first boycott meetings might be held at his church. Nixon looked to King to lead the meetings because King, a new Montgomery resident, had not been around the community enough to have been intimidated by the white power structure as had many other longstanding black figures. Nixon’s efforts demonstrate what makes movements spark – one person somewhere in concert with others chooses to make a difference.

And there are more stories and more stories of young people like King striving and dying for freedom. Stories of American youth singing and clinging for their lives as a result of the impact the movement had on them. It was the young people who organized and led the Black Panther Party. It was the young people, encouraged by older supporters like E.D. Nixon and Ella Baker, who developed and led the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). It was the young people who were often the marching backbone during events organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). It was the young people who integrated the Topeka Kansas School System, Little Rock’s Central High and the University of Mississippi. It was the young people who carried King’s dream from Detroit to Chicago to Washington and all over this country. Young people like Bobby Seale, Angela Davis, Sonia Sanchez and Huey Newton. All people affected by King’s role as a mover of people in the movement for millions. Some criticized his consistent nonviolence, others lamented at the presumed slow pace toward freedom, still others cheered King for his defiance of the white power structure and his insistence in pressing on through house bombings, police billy-clubbing and multiple arrests – no matter their view of King, all respected him. Even Malcolm came around.

Each of these players and others so unnamed are important because they are the leaders King praised from his pulpit, they are the fallen whom King eulogized at cemeteries. Many are in fact the few who King shared tactics and plans with. We should know them because King’s movements – the bellowing voice through the airwaves and his gentle footsteps mile after mile - are so well known to us today, and were in large part successful because of them, the young supporters of his dream. Thus, the federal holiday in honor of King, is not solely about the man and his efforts. It is about that. But the federal holiday is also about the leadership coalition King was able to directly inspire and indirectly manage.

I encourage us all to seriously consider the life of the man we celebrate and honor this month, who became a leader when called upon, who saw a need of the people and fill it, who became a spokesperson for a local crisis and eventually a global movement. Consider, as he did, that your intellectual studies of whatever genre may not solve the many burning questions in your head concerning what you can do about advocating freedom and justice and equity today. But, if you step into the ring, onto the court, onto the saddle of life, by your practical action, by living through the actual experience of your efforts, you will lead a life, as Plato reminds, that is worth living. You will live a life, as King highlighted, that is “fit to live” because you would have found “something worth dying for.” You will live your life. Because, in the end that’s all you have. As, James Baldwin once stated, “People pay for what they do and still more for what they have become, and they pay for it simply by the lives they lead.” Therefore, it is my hope that as we celebrate King’s birthday, we go out into the world and share the dream to make real those promises of democracy of old, share the dream to make justice a reality for all (not some), share the dream for freedom and jobs for the disadvantaged (not just the advantaged), share the dream that civil rights and human rights are not idealistic waves of thunderous vocabulary glamour. No, civil and human rights are the doctrine for doers who choose to live the reality that everyone is created equal.

As we pause to honor a movement and a man named King who made it so, let’s make sure our homage is worthy of those, including King, we have lost along the way on this road toward equity and freedom. Let us not forget about their toils and struggles, their difficulties, their blood, pain and anguish as King Celebrations and Black History month concludes. Rather, let us, especially the young, learn from them. It’s up to us to secure jobs and freedom from the disadvantaged. It’s up to us to make sure every person enjoys the benefits of every right. It’s up to us to pick up the torch and work to edify King’s dream for future generations. It’s up to us. It’s up to you.

Pulse Magazine: People to Watch 2011

2011-01-05T00:15:00.000-08:00

I'm Evidently One to Watch

Chicago Mayoral FunRace!

2011-01-05T00:12:00.001-08:00

The Chicago mayoral race is proving to be quite interesting. Finally, long shot candidates Rev. Meeks and Rep. Davis have lined up behind former Amb. and Sen. Moseley-Braun - now, if only Chicago's black residents can do the same, the black community may have the chance for descriptive representation at city hall in the windy city.

Political Gameship

2010-12-15T22:49:00.000-08:00

As the House passed DADT today, marking a historic civil rights victory for the country and specifically the gay community on the horizon, the Senate passed the Obama-Republicans-Clinton Saved Tax Deal. It appears there may be some backdoor politicking going on - "Liberal House Dems, You support the tax deal, and we, the moderate and conservative Senate Democrats and Moderate Republicans will vote for DADT."

Not a bad year - (projected mandated healthcare, economic recovery packages, etc) and with a 45% Obama approval rating, all of the hoopla predicting the demise of his presidency, it turns out, it just, well - hoopla.

A Pragmatic, Historic Victory

2010-11-03T19:16:00.001-07:00

Tuesday’s re-election of Deval Patrick as governor of Massachusetts is a historic victory for him and for Massachusetts voters. Massachusetts, the first slave-holding colony in New England, now will be remembered for re-electing the first black governor in the history of the United States. In the midst of an anti-incumbent surge that ended Democratic control in the U.S. House of Representatives, Massachusetts voters did what most in the country on November 2nd chose not to do: vote with pragmatism, not fear.

The result: all Democratic statewide candidates won election and the so-called Scott Brown effect appears muted.

Nov 2

2010-11-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Vote Now, Vote Today, Vote Always. The real 'message' to send to politicians is not the message that increases the opportunities for legislative gridlock, but rather the message that real change may be slower than liked, but it's better than the alternative.

Telegram.com - An edition of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Sunday Telegram

2010-09-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Telegram.com - An edition of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Sunday Telegram

Black Urban Voting

2010-09-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

The older I get, the more respect I lose for my fellow racial brethren. As I watch election results, read poll analyses, listen to pundits talk about voter turnout, it continues to baffle me and disturb my spirit to know that so many black urban dwellers do not vote - when just a generation ago, our fore-mothers and fore-fathers fought, strove, toiled and died for that very right.

It's very simple, black voter registration and turnout should be 100% everywhere!

Racist Tennis Commentators

2010-09-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

White male commentators on US Open Court Channel 1 (DirecTV) for the second round U.S. Open Match between Dustin Brown of Jamaica and Andy Murray of England made several extremely problematic references concerning Brown. The statement that “it would take a month to comb that hair out” is as bad as Imus’ “nappy headed hoes” reference. Additionally concerning is the reference that Brown swings like “King Kong,” both made by the white male commentators.

It is obvious that these tennis commentators need diversity and sensitivity training. They all need a a contemporary lesson. With comments like “Welcome to the big time buddy,” it is apparent commentators forgot Brown’s appearance at Wimbledon earlier this year.

It remains unfortunate that racial comments are permitted to pass as jokes and expert commentary. Simply put, the commentators should be fired.

Race in the Woo: A Community Roundtable

2010-08-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED MINORITY POPULATION, effective minority responsiveness and representation throughout the public sector in medium-sized cities such as Worcester, MA is central to the city’s overall success. Based in part on results of a thirty-question survey purposively distributed to African-American residents of Worcester, the community roundtable provides a forum for area leaders to discuss the significance of the data and to strategize for next steps.

An expert on minority representation in medium-sized cities, Clark professor Ravi K. Perry will discuss how the survey results and related data detail African-American Worcester residents’ opinions on city government efforts to represent their interests, how African-American Worcester residents’ views on city public services and quality of life differ from whites’ views on similar questions in other surveys, and explain why most respondents identified a lack of leadership in the black community and expressed dissatisfaction with a number of political representation issues.

Dr. Perry will be joined by community leaders to discuss the survey results and data on affirmative action and consider ways to organize local efforts to achieve racial justice.

Race in the Woo Poster

DeVal Patrick: Running for Act Two

2010-08-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

DeVal Patrick: Running for Act Two

Federal Court Upholds Gay Marriage

2010-08-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Federal Court decision to uphold the civil rights of American gays and lesbians' right to marry is finally justice long denied, yet now arrived.

The Constitution, according to the Court, does apply to same-sex couples as well!

Go Shirley Go!

2010-07-22T22:18:00.001-07:00

The controversy surrounding Shirley Sherrod's forced resignation with the USDA is shocking. The racialized context has gone viral throughout all media sources. However, the entire episode is regrettable and was preventable. All parties involved - the conservative blogger Beitbart, the sensationalist Fox News reports of the "story," the pressure and support to resign from high-level officials in the White House and the USDA, and the NAACP's rush to judgment - should recognize the real lesson learned: in today's media climate, the rush to be the first headline often conflicts with our Constitutional ideals. Sherrod deserved a fair chance and the due process of investigation of the decades-old video, prior to being pressured to resign. However, that did not happen because everyone - including Obama's appointees presumably charged with protecting the President's image at all costs - went overboard in their duties. In the end, the result is that Sherrod has been slandered throughout the national media and all parties involved (except Fox News and Beitbart) have publicly apologized, thus, raising questions of their own credibility. Is the goal of re-election, moderate, mainstream politics more important than giving government employees a fair shake when accused of such an offense? Surely, we are a better country than that. Surely we elected someone at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave who proclaimed in his candidacy speech on February 10, 2007, that "that kind of politics is over." While Sherrod has been offered a new position with the USDA, ironically in its civil rights division, she deserves much more than the opportunity to continue to do what she's always done: respectfully do her job. Sherrod deserves a high profile position where she can make significant contributions to government actions. Perhaps her best role would be as the conscience of political actors who have trouble doing the right thing.

Race, The Tea Party, and More: Tune In Live!

2010-07-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

Join me Today (7/20) at 1:20 p.m. EST on "Everything Is Broken" WUSB FM. Tune Into Live: http://www.wusb.fm/

Race, The Tea Party, and American Politics Featured on WUSB FM 7/20/2010

2010-07-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

I will be a guest on Jim Lynch's show "Everything is Broken" (WUSB 90.1 FM - Stony Brook, NY) on Tuesday July 20th at 1:15 p.m. discussing race and American politics, and impact of the Tea Party.

NAACP Tea Party Resolution a Plus!

2010-07-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

As a former active member of the Youth and College Division of the NAACP, founder of the University of Michigan NAACP chapter and one of many organizers seeking to re-establish the Worcester (MA) NAACP Chapter, I was glad to learn of the NAACP's Resolution condemning the racial elements of the Tea Party movement. The NAACP's voice in this contemporary issue signals a major shift in the organization's civil rights agenda. With its new generation of leadership, the NAACP is finally addressing contemporary social issues in a timely fashion. I only hope their road back to significance continues on this relevant path.

Why We Should Boycott: How Arizona’s Anti-Brown Laws Affect Blacks and All Americans

2010-05-19T12:32:00.001-07:00

The Arizona state assembly’s now infamous anti-immigrant bill and legislation banning ethnic studies programs in secondary schools recently signed into law by Republican Governor Jan Brewer should matter not just to Latino/a Americans, but to African Americans and all Americans. Why? Because the state, with roughly 60% white population and 40% minority population, has a Republican-controlled state legislature whose representative total is not near parity with the state’s minority population.

Since the aftermath of the bills’ passage made the rounds on national cable news networks and throughout the blogosphere, many have said that it is clear that people in that state have lost their minds; but Arizona’s history suggests otherwise. These types of racial and ethnic controversies are not new to Arizona. It was the last state to officially recognize the national holiday honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Still, while the criticism from the left has been broad, the opposition to the new laws has largely not been focused on the effects to the Black American community.

The anti-immigrant bill has drawn its fair share of criticism already. The racist underpinnings of the anti-immigration law, however, functions as the canary in the coal mine for all under-represented racial minorities, and has shown up in the more obviously direct assault on the education of the state’s youth. The anti-immigration law was closely followed by another new law that bans the teaching of ethnic studies, arguing that such courses and programs "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment of a particular race or class of people, [and] are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals." Schools that fail to comply will lose their state funding.

The new anti-immigrant and anti-ethnic studies laws should matter to Blacks—and to all Americans. First,
the law banning ethnic studies centers on the Tucson School District, which currently offers courses focusing on the experiences and contributions of African-Americans, Native-Americans and Mexican-Americans. Second, the law’s successful filtering through the majority white and Republican state legislature should sound as a loud wake up call to all who value fair minority representation. The disproportionately over-represented white, conservative block wields excessive power to negatively impact a large number of minorities.

The efforts in both laws are supported by Tom Horne, the head of the Arizona schools and Republican candidate for attorney general. A conservative, Horne and other whites mask their traditional racism as an effort that is pro-American – an effort that also denies American citizens with accents from teaching courses on the English language. Arguably, the laws are an effort to ignore the reality that Arizona is set to become a majority-minority state by 2015, and to prolong the power of a dwindling white population. The ban on ethnic studies distorts America’s proud hallmark as a pluralistic, diverse nation, and has wrongly billed curricula that affirms this diversity as white hatred and ethnocentrism.

The law banning the teaching of ethnic studies is particularly problematic. The systematic exclusion of minority and, specifically, Blacks’ contribution to the American fabric denies the extraordinary contributions members of various minority racial and ethnic groups have made and continue to make to all areas of our society.

The representatives in Arizona’s state legislature have forgotten the legacy of human and civil rights for which Americans from all generations and backgrounds have fought, and from which the ethnic studies movement was derived in the 1960s and early 1970s. Students on college campuses around the country demanded black and ethnic studies because it serves an important experiential and intellectual purpose. Increased racial and ethnic diversity and programs of study yields societal benefits from which we all learn how best to relate to difference in all its forms. Arizona’s legislature has misinterpreted the mission of ethnic studies programs. The focus of ethnic studies is the accurate telling of history and the expression of pride for all America’s ethnic groups. Ethnic studies is truly American – and it generates pride in all those who value the diverse history of our great country.

The denial of the ethnic realities of our country’s population is a flagrant dismissal of the contributions that members of these groups make to society. For me, this is an extreme situation. As Dr. King stated in response to those who questioned his tactics after the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist church in Birmingham, AL that killed four girls, “we were faced with an extreme situation, and our remedies had to be extreme.” Therefore, I call on all organizations, cities, and towns to boycott Arizona commerce. While this boycott will unfortunately have some negative impact on those residing in the state currently, the temporary pain cannot be shielded against the greater good. Again, I reference Dr. King, the leader who Arizona took decades to officially recognize: “The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience, but how he stands at times of controversy and challenge.” The same is true today for organizations, cities and towns. While it may be easy and convenient to maintain the status quo in terms of conventions, business trips, and so on, such acts support a viewpoint that is truly un-American. While the representatives in Arizona are not representative of all Arizonans, they do speak for them – and unfairly, on behalf of many, they spoke bigotry, ignorance, and hatred. Consequently, we outsiders must be the conscience of the state.

In this post-Civil Rights era, we have the responsibility to hold on to the gains made some fifty years ago. Many fought and died to see the contributions of our people acknowledged and included. We can and should begin to speak for those sung and unsung giants of ethnic studies and civil rights by continuing to voice opposition to Arizona’s recent anti-ethnic studies/anti-immigrant legislation. We can and should boycott the state’s commerce to pressure the laws’ reversal.

How Obama is Different: The Global Impact and Effect of Effort

2009-10-09T05:42:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama’s nomination and selection as the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize recipient cannot be understated. President Obama becomes the first sitting United States President to win the award in ninety years. Notably, many historic figures past and current that Americans and the globe appear to idolize have not won the award. Moreover, given the list of accomplishments and efforts of previous presidents, President Obama’s selection may be an enigma for some.

However, in an attempt to briefly explain why President Obama’s efforts that won him the award are similar yet significantly distinct from the actions of others comparable, let us review some of the efforts and accomplishments of other U.S. presidents.

President Hoover did not win for efforts to feed the politically unpopular and eradicate poverty. President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not win though he was instrumental in bringing a gradual end to the U.S. Depression, established Social Security, was instrumental in the creation of the United Nations and oversaw U.S. military actions in World War II. President Truman did not win after ordering the complete desegregation of the U.S. armed forces nor did President Eisenhower for his effort to integrate Little Rock Central High School in the midst of America’s racial turmoil.

President Kennedy did not win even though he tried to decrease the presence of nuclear weapons, helped prevent a Cuban Missile Crisis, vastly supported equal, civil and human rights and sought to eliminate poverty. President Johnson did not win for his efforts in Vietnam or for his ability to enact many of his predecessor’s goals. President Reagan did not win even though he successfully negotiated a treaty to eliminate intermediate range nuclear missiles with the then Soviet leader. Even given his success in the Persian Gulf War, President George H.W. Bush never won either. President Clinton has not (yet?) won the award despite his national initiative to end racial discrimination, his role in establishing AmeriCorps, and his commitment to an expanded NATO while in office or his post-presidency efforts with the vitally important Clinton Global Initiative. Finally, President’s George W. Bush’s costly initiative against a war on terrorism did not lead him to Nobel victory either.

What makes President Obama's selection significant is that while he has yet to amass the list of comparable substantive achievements of his predecessors, he has been able to do in a short time what they all were unable to do. The fostering of immediate global impact and the effect of effort. In other words, how President Obama has articulated the global importance of hope, change, prosperity and peace is starkly different from yet simultaneously uniquely comparable to previous presidents' substantive successes. How President Obama chose to transfer his message and the immediate global effect of that message is something no previous president has accomplished. The domestic and global effects of that seemingly reverberating transmission of goals is as powerful as any major substantive result.

For example, domestically, the purported increase in volunteerism many scholars, non-profit leaders, and pundits have directly or indirectly attributed to President Obama's call to service in signing The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act last April and his creation of the United We Serve initiative. In fact, the President next week is expected to join with former President George H.W. Bush and the Points of Light Institute to host a Presidential Forum on Service at Texas A&M University to honor presidential efforts to increase volunteerism. The impact those thousands of new volunteers have daily on the lives of others is real. As history informs, it is wise not to doubt the impact of inspiration.

Therefore, President Barack Obama’s nomination is unlike each of the potential ‘wins’ of those other presidents. As the first President of the United States who is not a White male and whose electoral and governing style embraces a powerful rhetoric of hope and prosperity, Obama’s nomination and victory speaks to more than his efforts as President as it does his galvanizing ability to capture the world’s attention. His success on the world global stage began well before his presidency and will continue much afterward likely no matter the results. The reason for this is because President Obama’s message, though at this point is short on significant substantive successes, is a message of serious effort and attention to national and global crises that have long been ignored by the Office of the Presidency or that have been addressed in uninspiring initiatives.

For example, for the first time in the history of American presidential politics, a candidate underscored the long-stated link between the errors of the U.S. Constitution, significant yet morally disastrous Supreme Court decisions, slavery, second-class citizenship, the failures of this nation’s founders, and the lasting impact of that legacy in a context that made the topic of race clearly important to all who listened. With nearly two million YouTube viewers, the vast impact is transparent.

Many will point to President Obama’s short tenure in office as a signal that this award he does not deserve and that the award itself has lost meaning. However, before one draws a conclusion based on his record solely as president, they should not forget his “record” and powerful voice as a candidate for the presidency – one who took the global stage by storm and transformed it even before he took office. He, in fact, led a movement to the office, which is in part why no opposition was evenly tooled to defeat him. Yes, his re-election will be measured on more substantive norms and details, and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize will likely raise even higher expectations of a historic presidency that already suffers as a result of extraordinarily high expectations from all U.S. citizens, (but especially U.S. Blacks) and many across the globe who cling to President Obama’s message.

Yet, even though the expectations will remain impossibly high and he has yet to complete much of his agenda, his efforts at domestic and global peace today should not go unnoticed simply because he has more work to do. Understandably, for many the United States remains a systemically-founded imperialistic, racist, sexist, capitalist country of White male global dominance wherein a structure of inequality still exists. However, while elements of our ugly past persist, Americans and humanity across the globe should all be careful to remember that the effort at establishing peace can be just as powerful as the substantive results thereof, particularly when the individual is one who symbolizes a shift in America’s racial order that has long plagued the country.

Finally, President Obama’s selection as the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner makes even more poignant the substantive power and ironic substance of symbolic politics. Generally speaking, politics has the power and potential to inspire people. However, the best stewards of that political strength are those persons able to organize an unprecedented number of supporters and followers, and use the new platform as an opportunity to make significant strides toward lasting change all the while changing individual lives in the process.

Either as a result of substantive plans yet to be realized or simply because the spirit of peace many say he now represents, President Obama exemplifies the hope and spirit on which the Nobel Peace Prize was founded. Consequently, although incomplete, President Obama’s efforts meet that spirit of the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, perhaps it is best to award the president the prize before his record is completely established given that one's merits for the honor is not limited to the results achieved but also includes the global impact the efforts generate.

For that, he is an obvious choice.

The Nobel Peace Prize is a worthy accomplishment for President Obama and for the United States of America not because of Mr. Obama’s substantive global results given ten months in office, but because of his rapid and substantive global impact and effect.

Ravi Perry, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Government at Clark University.

The Past in Present Tense

2009-06-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

This week the Justice Department correctly overturned two discriminatory state of Georgia "no match, no vote" voting procedures. Georgia is one of the states subject to federal pre-clearance, given its history of illegal voting intimidation methods that in part resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The procedures Georgia put in place were designed to flag new registrants whose basic personal information did not match government databases. Another comparable procedure checked the citizenship status of new registrants against the government's records. Given that local, state and federal governments are notorious in all kinds of cases for having poor record-keeping, the fact that the Bush administration upheld these practices for years is unimaginable. The Obama/Holder Justice Department's decision is particularly significant given that the same department with a Hispanic head under President Bush routinely backed states' voting rules - rules that more often than not made it harder for minorities to register and vote.

Moreover, the Justice Department's actions could not have been more timely given that the Supreme Court is in the process of deliberating a challenge to the Voting Rights Act from jurisdictions and advocates who claim the Act has exhausted its necessity and utility.

However, after investigations, the Georgia procedures were found to have many errors and resulted in thousands of eligible voters having to go through the arduous process of verifying their identity records simply to vote (and we wonder why turn out is often low?). Most of those flagged persons, according to the New York Times, were Black.

Finally, the Justice Department under a Democratic, Black-led administration used the law to defend the voting rights of American citizens. Citing the need for Georgia to pre-clear any voting changes with the Justice Department as determined by Section Five of the Act, the decision has stopped the process that was allowed by President Bush and his Justice Department for far too long.

Now, the next battle is to ensure that this Georgia example is shared on loud speakers in front of the Supreme Court, as they may strike down the very section of law that was used to invalidate Georgia's 21st century voting intimidation acts.

As much as we would all like to believe that the Act and Section Five were remnants of a past era, the very fact that we are still having to address situations like what just occurred in Georgia is evidence that what is in the past for some, is still very much the present for others.

Until the past remains the past for all and is exemplified by corresponding actions, the Voting Rights Act and any other law supporting the civil rights of American citizens must be upheld.

The Gay Tap Dance

2009-06-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Call me a cynic, but President Obama's decision to allow his appointees and employees to defend the inequality of gay and lesbians' civil rights is inexcusable. Some historic moments don't wait for a convenient time to be changed. As Obama said often himself as a candidate who invoked the tenor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., what ever happened to the fierce urgency of now?

This week President Obama allowed employees of the Justice Department to move to dismiss a same-sex marriage case in federal courts. However, the administration's choice to file a motion to dismiss Smelt v. United States is not particularly the problem. Rather, the issue is how the administration chose to make the argument. While the Justice Department spokesperson said the administration was "defending the law on the books in court," others have noted that in their defense the language used also chose to uphold discrimination and to compare gays' lives to immoral incestuous practices

Meanwhile, the New York Times wrote a fairly critical article about the President and his administration's slow start to advocate for equality of all. Finding that "busy calendars and political expediency are no excuse for making one group of Americans wait any longer for equal rights," The Times accused Obama of not following through soon enough of his commitment of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

In fact, what The Times indicated he has allowed instead, was to make the argument in federal court that states have the rights not to recognize same-sex marriage because of the Constitution's full faith and credit clause where decades of case law have been used to emphasize that states need not recognize incestuous marriages.

Clearly this comparison is a huge problem. And I will go out on a limb here and again indicate why Blacks need to be a clear advocate for gay rights. Not because Blacks' struggle is like unto the American Black civil rights movement of the 1960s (although an argument can be made for such a comparison), but largely because Black Americans have long been recognized globally as one of the most discriminated groups in history. One would think that quid pro quo or understanding would come in at some point. The fact that the president is Black and the head of the Justice Department is also Black when such trifling legal comparisons are made between incestuous acts and gay and lesbian marriage is inexcusable.

Indirectly, it suggests Blacks in powerful positions will not use their authority to at least craft respectful arguments even where in the final analysis many gays may disagree. That choice is severely regrettable.

During his campaign President Obama expressed an interest in over-turning "don't ask, don't tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act and has yet to do so. With climate change, the economy, and healthcare, he claims the moment is now. With a Democratic majority, he has argued in respect to those issues that if nothing significant is accomplished now before the midterm election season, than it won't be completed anytime soon.

Why my president can not apply the same fervor to respect the equal rights of all Americans is baffling. And no - extending some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees is not in and of itself significant. Unfortunately full coverage was not extended and the maneuver is well over-due.

I find it sadly interesting how staunch conservative Republicans like former Vice President Dick Cheney, former presidential candidate Senator John McCain's daughter, and McCain's former campaign manager Schmidt can openly explain their support for equal rights for the LGBT community, yet President Obama and his administration continue to tap dance around the issue on many fronts - from 'don't ask don't tell' ambivalence to a discriminatory support only for civil unions.

Much more aggressive action is needed from President Obama and his team and if this is a country that truly stands for equal rights, every day the president wakes up and does nothing is an egregious act against the founding fathers and his own ancestors.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same.

2009-06-12T08:48:00.001-07:00

Today is Friday June 12th and I am beginning a new weekly blog series that briefly covers the week’s major stories from my point of view.

When then candidate and Senator Barack Obama was elected President of the United States last November, people globally were in tears and proudly reflected on the significance of the change moment. However, as I have stated in previous posts, expecting checks in the mail because of the watershed victory is another story.

To my dismay we still live in a country where change occurs in a push and pull vacuum. In other words, like the story of sociopolitical electoral progress in many cities nationwide, while we can proudly continue to cheer the advancement of Black elected officials, the tenor of the country’s comfort with all that entails still tries to pull us back from the pushing progress many continue to fight for.

This push and pull phenomenon arguably has even affected President Obama’s judicial nominee. Sotomayor, while clearly competent, skilled, experienced, and a near-perfect mirage of someone who would fill race and gender holes on the bench - her record on key issues of Democratic interest remains unknown. Given that her confirmation is only subject to a near filibuster proof Democratic majority, the silent nature of her positions on many Democratic issues remains unfortunate.

Sadly, though, her racial and gender make-up do not shed light on that mystery either. Clearly identifying as a woman does not suggest one is progressive and one’s racial background does not indicate that either (e.g., Clarence Thomas, Ward Connerly, Michael Steele, etc). While scholars stress her wealth of experience, all of that experience still leaves unanswered why she does not possess a clear record on liberal issues. She largely remains unknown on issues like abortion and gay marriage, in part because the 2nd Circuit, based in NYC handles mostly commercial cases, not social issues.

Hence, President Obama’s choice to nominate a skilled, competent, experienced justice without a clear record on some of the major hot-button issues of the era only reflects his own role in the yin and yang or boomerang effect of change vs. maintaining the status quo. Arguably with a near filibuster proof majority, President Obama, who is comfortable with tackling big issues like health care and climate change in his first year in office, should have been equally comfortable with nominating a jurist with a clear record on social issues that will forever dictate the path this country takes in the future.

In either event, I am comfortable with the nomination and believe she will be confirmed. Her nomination is a departure from the last several nominations from Republican Presidents. Whether or not the departure is strong enough, we will soon find out.

In the end, though, President Obama’s moderate approach toward his first Supreme Court nomination can be characterized as an example of appeasing or maintaining the status quo. Think of it this way - President Obama’s choice to be more moderate in his governance than in his electoral campaign rhetoric suggests he believes re-election would best position him to make substantive change that has long effects on this country. While a strong argument, the question remains if a moderate approach will help him achieve that 2012 goal. More significantly, at what cost will a moderate governing approach delay the change he spoke so eloquently about on the campaign trail?

The tamely, yet significant Sotomayor nomination paints a larger picture that change occurs in the context of the status quo, and as a result, often means will be slower than imagined, previously thought, or for some, desired. A moderate governing approach also suggests that there is a political need to appease more conservative elements. Hence, that suggests for the sake of politics, progressive change cannot be too aggressive. Apparently, it must not march ahead of the tenor of millions who hold more conservative views. It’s like a theorist, who often may claim changing the discourse will result in the public policy change desired. However, getting the tone of the conversation to change and the opinions of others to change is often a task too difficult, and unnecessary when history suggests waiting for the majority’s opinion to change in favor of a particular issue may lead to the issue never changing. Moreover, a public policy change may require changing the discourse for the politicians or decision makers voting or deciding the issue, but that is arguably easier than getting the whole country to do the same.

The push and pull factors of change vs. the status quo could not have been more evident in this week’s news. I recall reading an article where the author noted how Alabama still had a law banning interracial marriage in the state in October 2000 and that 40 percent of the Alabama electorate wanted to keep it that way. Comparable sodomy laws still exist in some states throughout the country.

The presence of laws that enforce socially conservative views that legislate citizens’ private affairs perhaps is an endorsement for some of the moderate approach toward governance. However, while it demonstrates an interest and willingness to get as much support as possible for particular issues, it also validates and gives voice to many of the conservative views and laws that discriminate against citizens of this country.

Luckily, some bold politicians are willing, at least in the electoral arena, to challenge those norms. For example, 41-year-old Black Alabama Congressman Artur Davis, last week announced he is running for governor of a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat in that office in over ten years and of the same state where a famous former governor declared “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” in his inaugural address.

While much later in life Wallace changed his views, the contemporary story of a serious Black contender for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor in 2010 in Alabama is another example of the pushing of change taking place simultaneously with the pulling of the status quo..

Take, for example, the deathly violence in the lobby of the Holocaust Museum this week by an eighty-eight year old gunman was a well-known white supremacist. The rise in pride for the election of a Black president also coincided with a rise in hate groups according to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Unfortunately, while the relation of the two events is not surprising it does reference my point that an uncritical lens toward change simply because we have a Black president is misguided. Change will come, we just may need to be more patient, pragmatic, and realistic toward that end.

It will take many a long time to get used to seeing a Black family in the White House and that family’s leader, for the sake of all of us, and himself, will cautiously tread the road toward change as a result.

This week’s news reminds us that change is a product of the status quo environment, both in terms of sociopolitical goals and governance related actions. Hence, progressive change always occurs along side status quo appeasement for some, deeper retrenchment for many, and aggressive forms of resistance for others.

Why Blacks’ Denial of Civil Rights to Others is an Affront to Themselves

2009-06-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

I am still disturbed by those African-Americans who choose not to support marriage equality efforts for members of the gay and lesbian community throughout America. It remains especially baffling that so many African-Americans in California could proudly claim their ability to vote for President Barack Obama as a civil rights victory while voting on the same ballot to deny civil rights to members of the gay community.

It appears that those blacks seemingly view civil rights as solely synonymous with the 1960’s movement to improve the Black American experience. However, civil rights in this country are at least as old as the Declaration of Independence, well before blacks had any significant rights or legal protections in America. In other words, civil rights existed before oppressed blacks received them, and should exist for others now after blacks have largely received the same rights afforded whites.

Marriage is a civil right, conferred by the state. At least given one’s verifiable status as a state resident and citizen – that right should be conferred equally to all within every state’s borders. More and more, state supreme courts and legislative bodies – conservative, moderate and liberal – have recognized the basic legality of that fact. The only roadblocks to such civil equality that remain have been voters’ own interpretations of what they individually consider marriage to be.

Many of those blacks who have chosen to deny a state-conferred right to a marginalized group have argued that their faith and religious beliefs form their opinions thusly. However, one would think that blacks, of all people, would recall that the KKK used Christian-based arguments to sustain their Jim Crow control over blacks for centuries through intimidation, fear, and other tactics. One would think that blacks, of all people, would recall that some White southerners used Christianity to suppress blacks’ efforts toward equal treatment as they enslaved blacks for centuries - either by way of the institution of slavery or the institution of second-class citizenship. One would think that blacks, of all people, would recall that in some states since the late 1600s until 1967, blacks were not given the freedom to marry whomever they pleased given rampant miscegenation laws that did not allow ‘race mixing.’ Each of these historic recollections are examples of James Madison’s tyranny of the majority and are evidence of the use of religion against black people in their pursuit of economic justice, legal civil protections, and marriage equality.

In each case blacks often argued their pursuit of equal legal protections were not only civil rights, but human rights. Do you remember reading King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail? Therein, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas and others to persuade white southern ministers who were reluctant to challenge unjust laws against segregation. King argued that unjust laws were no laws at all and cannot be justified. Moreover, he suggested that all persons, but especially Christians, have a duty to challenge the unequal treatment of human beings.

As a minister, King invoked preferred tenants of the Christian faith to make his arguments. However, I’m conscious enough to realize that I am also guilty of picking and choosing which Bible verses speak most readily to my point of view. However, that’s the point. No matter our opinions on contentious issues like abortion, the death penalty and marriage equality, we all can find Biblical references to support one’s argument. Take women’s rights, for example. In the first book of Corinthians, the Apostle Paul suggests that women should remain silent in church. Yet, in the book of Romans, Paul's view is that women could and should be church leaders.

As a civil right, marriage equality should not be about religion, but I had to address religion because I know that, for many, it is the reason for persons’ opposition to marriage equality.

Hence, there are differing views in the Bible with respect to major issues based on individual interpretation. The same is true for marriage equality.

Regardless of how Christianity has been used to further the social agendas of varying groups historically, I understand and respect the merits of both sides of the contemporary marriage equality debate. For example, recently, scholars and media pundits have increasingly suggested why “gay rights,” should be viewed as a civil rights issue. However, others share a different view.

Recent evidence of the competing views is noted within the membership of the NAACP. Leaders such as Julian Bond and Coretta Scott King have noted that support for gay rights is in line with the organization’s mission. Detractors, such as civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, find that gays are rightly discriminated against “because of their behavior.” Thus, proponents of “gay rights” have long framed the issue of marriage equality as a human, rights-based issue with ties to the civil rights movement. However, others view their concerns as distinctly different from the content of rights, human or civil.

The problem with detractors’ arguments concerning marriage equality is that their arguments keep shifting. Many opponents of marriage equality have argued that ‘activist judges’ should not legislate social changes from courts. Some have suggested that is what occurred originally Massachusetts, later in California and Connecticut, and most recently, in Iowa when the Supreme Court ruled state-sponsored discrimination against gays in marriage equality as unconstitutional.

Those opponents argued to leave the decision to the people or their elected representatives. Yet, in New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia where state and local legislatures have voted in favor of marriage equality or are in the process of doing so, those detractors now alter their tactics from claims of judicial activism to one of moral reasoning.

In either event, however, the spirit of the law remains the same – the denial of rights to a protected class of people is illegal. Separate civil unions will not work. Civil unions still deny gays more than one thousand federal benefits and responsibilities received by married heterosexual couples. More importantly, it establishes a separate institution that is inherently unequal. Brown v. Board of Education, whose 55th anniversary we celebrate this week, already struck those structures down as illegal.

I prefer the term ‘marriage equality’ rather than ‘gay rights’ or ‘gay marriage’ on the basis that the infusion of the context ‘gay’ implies the establishment of a separate institution. When, in fact, the rights gays seek are civil rights that do not and should not require the establishment of separate institutions, rather, the legal inclusion of gays within pre-existing constitutionally-based structures of American culture.

I realize that there are differing opinions in the marriage equality civil rights debate. As President Obama recently implied in his controversial Notre Dame commencement address, we should be able to have differing views on major issues and not succumb to degradation. I can understand and respect one who shares a different view on marriage equality. I would hope that in America, where we have the freedom to speak freely, that my views on marriage equality can be equally respected.

Marriage is a civil right. We know that because no marriage is considered legitimate unless it is validated by the state. As long as marriage licenses are printed using state, tax payer funded dollars, and are validated by state employees, every adult should have the right to marry whatever human being they please. Moreover, African-Americans, more than any other group, have a historical duty to support the cause of civil rights of others. Such support would not only be fair, but based in Jesus’ instruction to love everybody. It’s also quid pro quo.

Notable black ‘supporters’ of the gay community also fiercely supported blacks’ struggle for equality – Bayard Rustin, Zora Neale Hurston, Bruce Nugent, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Wallace Thurman, Angela Davis, Langston Hughes, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Samuel Delaney, Angelina Grimke, Countee Cullen, Jewelle Gomez, Huey P. Newton and others.

Do we not view these scholars and leaders as equal?

Obama has upper hand on the topic of race relations

2009-06-10T20:57:00.001-07:00

(As printed in the Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester NY, September 26, 2008)

Ever since 1960, both major political parties have consented to presidential debates of their respective nominees. Tonight’s debate on foreign policy, however, marks a historic moment on the nation’s racial landscape - for the debate features a major party’s nominee who identifies as Black.

Pressing, though, is the unstable economy, made evident by John McCain’s recommendation on Wednesday that the debate should be postponed.

Yet, one topic should not be camouflaged – race. Tonight’s debate hosted by the University of Mississippi or ‘Ole Miss’ is the site where in 1962 White students and residents rioted, and Governor Barnett blocked the entry, despite the Supreme Court ordered admission, of the university’s first Black student, James Meredith.

A watershed legacy presents an opportunity for McCain and Obama. Both can share their view on the role of government in respect to civil rights at home and abroad, while we can recognize the subtle significance of the Commission on Presidential Debates’ selection of Ole Miss.

McCain needs to clarify his record on civil rights and explain why his campaign website includes no mention of civil rights. As it stands, a reasonable conclusion can be that it’s not of concern to him. The gall of claiming to bring civility “changes” abroad when one’s own backyard is filthy is incomprehensible.

Obama needs to remind voters of his March speech on race to calm their chastisements of his purported inattention to that very topic.

According to a New York Times article published Wednesday, “Debate Host, Too, Has a Message of Change,” even Chancellor Robert Khayat acknowledges that hosting the debate ‘speaks volumes’ of how Ole Miss has transformed from 46 years ago.
Yet, with Black enrollment at the public university at 14% in a state that is nearly 40% Black, more progress is needed. The chancellor’s overruling of a jury which chose to include mention of ‘fear’ in an erected memorial to Meredith’s triumph, is another indication of more progress being necessary. Embracing the role fear played in the riots surrounding Meredith’s enrollment should not be considered ‘negative’ as the New York Times article reports, but factual.

Fear is a valid emotion that affects the status and quality of race relations in the United States.

For instance, a AP-Yahoo News poll released Saturday found that 1/3 of White Democrats and independents view Blacks negatively, citing perceived laziness or violence as reasons for their views. The same poll suggests Obama’s race could cost him 6% in the election.

Hence, the stakes tonight are extremely high and the expectations are likely even higher, relative to global and domestic issues.

While the implications of tonight’s historic debate remain unclear, one thing is transparent: the choices before voters indicate that identity politics matters. For McCain – it’s his age and his running mate’s gender. For Obama – it’s his race.

By reversing their status quo positions of dancing around or ignoring race, McCain and Obama have the opportunity to emphatically endorse the desirable “changes” they both advocate for here and abroad.

But, odds are they won’t.

Why HIV and/or AIDS is a Sociopolitical Issue YOU NEED to Do Something Substantive About!

2009-06-10T20:55:00.002-07:00

The new HIV infection rates, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are simply devastating. Make no mistake - this is a political issue. It is a social issue. It is both a Black community issue and a global issue. It is – for some – a moral issue. But beyond whatever label you put on it – it is a life and death issue. Either you do something about it or you don’t. I hope you choose the former. Here’s why you should.

First, in the United States alone, more than 1 million people are living with HIV and/or AIDS. So, it’s not a silent epidemic. It’s likely right in front of your face – whether it’s your neighbor, your cousin, your brother, or your grandmother – HIV and/or AIDS’s close proximity to you means that you have access and opportunity to substantively make a positive contribution to the lives of those who are HIV positive.

Second, your participation would create an opportunity for education. Among other things, you will learn from your entre into the science of the epidemic that HIV and AIDS are not medically the same. In terms of the field of medicine, HIV is a virus that attacks your immune system and can develop into AIDS. However, it does not have to. And, thanks to medical and antiretroviral advances over several years, many afflicted with the condition live ‘normal,’ healthy lives and potentially may never develop AIDS in their lifespan. True – for others, depending on the strand of infection, time of diagnosis and infection, etc. one’s prognosis may differ. But, the point is, proper education is needed so we can become better equipped with the appropriate knowledge. For the purposes of this article, I deliberately refer to the epidemic as HIV and/or AIDS versus just AIDS or HIV/AIDS because of the medical distinction.

Third, the knowledge is needed to help stifle the stigma. This stigma is present nearly everywhere a person afflicted with HIV travels. While it is not as bad as it once was when, say, the Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington movie Philadelphia debuted (which is ‘celebrating’ its 15 anniversary this week) – the stigma, however, is still bad. If many feel they can not talk about it, how well do you think they are addressing it?

Frankly, we need to fight the stigma. It must be a topic of ministers’ sermons – regularly (not just during certain holidays and events). It should have long become an issue of concern to the Urban League and the NAACP. And by concern, I mean, a proactive method of attention that includes preventative methods and serious steps at intervention – intervening in the lives of those afflicted with care and support (financial and emotional). I don’t see that. Many of our Black organizations have simply failed. And, honestly, many churches are the main culprits. Ministers need to get beyond the sexual orientation doctrines that they attribute to the epidemic. Why?

First of all – globally, more people contract the disease through heterosexual contact than through any other means. Second, the last time I checked, God asks us not to judge but to love. You can still pray for someone with HIV, attend to someone with HIV and their needs, and hold true to your doctrine, without asking how they contracted the disease, if they’re gay, etc. The fact is – you don’t need to know to care for the individual. And given the statistic I just highlighted, they likely won’t be gay, anyway.

Bottom line – HIV and/or AIDS and homosexuality are not synonyms and are not necessarily related.

While I will debate a minister theologically if he or she holds a position on sexual orientation that denies equal rights to those not heterosexual, (and I’d be happy to) - difference of opinion on religious scripture should not prevent all of us from making every effort to positively impact the lives of those who are positive – no matter their sexual orientation.

Do you know that some people with HIV hide their affliction from their friends and family, ignore treatment options, and consequently potentially shorten their mental and physical lifespan by years? Do you know that many of those individuals are Black?

As Phil Wilson, the CEO and founder of Black AIDS Institute recently said, “AIDS in America continues to be a black disease as manifested by the numbers.” Well, what are the numbers? According to the CDC, African Americans accounted for 45 percent of the new HIV infections in 2006. Yet, we are only 12 percent of the population. Among Blacks, Black women are contracting the disease at alarming rates!

A number of issues are said to be the cause for high rates of infection among Blacks – poverty, stigma, limited access to healthcare, drug abuse, etc. Well, thanks to Jack Ford – in respect to healthcare and drug abuse, he’s help to create CareNet and SASI to deal with those. Contact CareNet if you’re positive and do not have health insurance. See if they can help. If you’re a drug user, I’d ask that you do the same with SASI and other organizations like it in Toledo.

And if you’re a concerned citizen willing to help those afflicted, I beg of you to contact those organizations and others like it to see how you can.

Literally – our community depends on it. With Black gay men ages 13 to 29 being twice as likely to get infected as white and young Hispanic men – if you believe in that ‘the youth are our future,’ mantra - I ask you to ask yourself, what actions of yours help to make that belief a reality?

With Black women being almost 15 times as likely than white women and four times more likely than Hispanic women to contract HIV and/or AIDS, I ask again, where do our beliefs meet our actions?

This is not just political. This is serious. With available mental and physical treatment, many with HIV and/or AIDS can live ‘normal’ (I hate that word) and productive life spans. However, without, many will not. And, you play a role in that. Your church plays a role. The Urban League and the NAACP play a role (whether they realize it or not). Black fraternity and sorority organizations play a role. Your small book club plays a role. Everyone does.

Now, I understand that a murder in the Black community, for example, (especially by a white person, presumably) may attract our attention and touch our sensitivities. But, if these numbers as it relates to HIV and/or AIDS don’t shake your faith, rattle your conscience, give you goosebumps, or at least make you think – I’ll ask another question – would you pinch yourself? Because - you must not be awake nor paying attention!

Why is this political? Well, for starters – we need the votes of many HIV afflicted individuals to sustain a democratically based country. Second, we need policies – in government, church bureaucracy, and groups’ organizational structures - to change to make it easier for persons with HIV and/or AIDS to receive the attention they deserve. It’s also political because we can do something about it through collaborative social action.

Finally, this treatise has been a plea for every human being - African Americans, especially – whether individually and/or within our respective groups - to make the issue of HIV and/or AIDS a major concern about which we devote serious time, energy, talent and other resources. I’ve argued that our community’s livelihood is at stake if we choose to turn a blind eye. I’ve gladly called out those who choose to support stigma and ignorance over and beyond truth and knowledge – whether it’s behind a pulpit or at the family dinner table.

But, of all of this, I ask that you remember that we are all human. The commonality we share as humans – whether male or female, rich or poor, black or white, straight, bi, gay, transgender, or some other label - that commonality, I hope we will cling to as we work together to reverse these devastating CDC numbers, particularly as it relates to Blacks and the issue of HIV and/or AIDS.

If we don’t – if you don’t – actively and willingly work to improve the quality of life of a fellow human being in need of help – what are we doing?

How Black Turnout Suppressed Civil Rights

2009-06-10T20:55:00.001-07:00

It continues to baffle me how the most prominent group who champions civil rights on their behalf fervently fails to see the hypocrisy of not supporting the same rights for other groups.

The fact that 70% of Blacks voted to ‘eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry’ in California is a very sad and ironic consequence of the excitement generated in the Black community to help elect Barack Obama.

News outlets worldwide are crying foul that American Blacks, the group of persons who should most understand the significance of the denial of basic civil rights, can in one moment cheer and celebrate their ability to vote for a Black president, calling it a ‘civil rights victory,’ and yet vote to deny civil rights to others.

And, they’re right.

Experts abound who state that had it not been for the large number of Black voters, Proposition 8 would have passed.

Black should be ashamed. One of two things happened: 1) Blacks are ignorant of the definition of civil rights, or 2) Blacks selfishly think civil rights is only synonymous with the 1960s, Dr. King, and the American South. Either reality is simply pitiful.

Civil rights are rights to personal liberty (full legal, social and economic equality) as established by the 13th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and a variety of Congressional Acts and Executive Orders.

If you don’t believe me, ask any lawyer on the street or ask the NAACP.

Here’s another definition: marriage is a legal, formal agreement between two individuals for mutual benefit. Why is this definition most accurate? Because you can perform the ceremonial act of marriage in a church with a minister and never be legally married. In the United States, the marriage of two individuals is valid insofar as it is recognized by the state. Hence, marriage is a contractually recognized agreement between two parties.

The stigma of our individual views of morality that we often associate with marriage is derived from social and religious mores.

The problem with Blacks holding this view in respect to the rights of same-sex couples to marry is that Christian White racists (i.e. the KKK) made same argument for centuries concerning their view that Blacks should not have the same rights as Whites and that African Americans should not be allowed to marry non-African Americans.

How can that argument be valid for Blacks, but invalid for those of a certain sexual orientation?

Furthermore, Proposition 8 in California was not only a vote to amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and woman; it was also a vote to eliminate the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry already given.

Why Blacks, of all people, would vote in such high percentages to eliminate a right already conferred upon a protected class of individuals is unconscionable.

Every Black person who holds the view that same-sex individuals should not be offered the civil right to marry should fully understand they their decision oppresses the oppressed.

What Good is an Apology?

2009-06-10T20:51:00.002-07:00

Acknowledging the "injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow," on Tuesday July 29th, The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.
The nonbinding, voice-vote resolution was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, a white representative who represents a majority black district in Memphis, Tennessee.

As the resolution signifies, this is the first time a branch of the federal government has apologized for slavery and injustice toward African Americans, and as a result, it is a significant action.

What I found most compelling about the resolution is that it states, "the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day." Recognizing that slavery’s shadow still is alive and well in American culture and society today is a key argument of proponents of affirmative action.

African Americans can now join the ranks of Native Americans, Japanese Americans and native Hawaiians, who have all received some form of an apology from the federal government in the past for injustices.

The problem with a non-binding resolution whose purpose is to apologize for past injustices toward African Americans is that it does little to change the substantive quality of life of African Americans in the present and does not in any way address the vestiges of slavery of Jim Crow that the resolution itself acknowledges – but in word only. African Americans’ economic circumstances have gone unchanged; our children, nieces, nephews, and cousins are not in better schools, and many of our neighborhoods are still in disarray.

The resolution does not address the controversial issue of reparations, either.

The timing of the resolution is also odd. Why now – 389 years after approximately 20 blacks from a Dutch slaver were purchased as indentured workers for the then-English settlement of Jamestown, VA?

Simply put, this is purely symbolic. Yet, the work of the average slave was more than substantive. Our ancestors deserve a substantive apologetic action. If we are seriously interested in honoring their forced service to this country and the economy of the south, it is only fair.

Why Obama Won: Notes on What Now

2009-06-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

Contrary to the media pundits’ views, Obama did not win the election of president of the United States because he’s Black. He didn’t win because this is a ‘Democratic Year.’ Obama did not win because McCain made a poor choice in his vice-presidential candidate. Obama also did not win because of his rhetoric of hope and change.

Obama won because, as President Clinton has said, he had the better ideas.

Now it’s time to put those ideas to work.

With Democratic gains in Congress, Obama can theoretically make some headway on many of his strong proposals. But, do not expect his presidency to function in a fundamentally different way from previous presidents. From a management perspective, much will be the same (i.e. slow Washington progress at addressing real problems).

In other words, I wouldn’t expect much substantive in his first year, though a focus on the economy and healthcare are likely to be key issues he champions.

Now that we’ve voted, it’s time to listen and offer suggestions. We must listen to Obama’s ideas and how he plans to make them reality. We must offer suggestions candidly – don’t be afraid to write an Obama White House staff member, or Congress member to offer input.

We can begin by going to http://www.letterstopresidentobama.com and writing a letter for potential inclusion in a serious book project edited by notable political scientists coming out in April 2009.

With Afro Sheen in the West Wing, African Americans, particularly, have good reason to be proud. I can only hope we channel that pride into constructive energy to bring about substantive change we need.

Many have worked hard for this victory – now the real work begins.

RAVI PREDICTS OBAMA WILL SECURE NOMINATION

2008-02-28T05:35:00.001-08:00

Sorry Hillary fans but Sen. Clinton would have to not only win Ohio and Texas on March 4th (which is in doubt), but she'd have to win by sizable margins.

While a victory for her on Tuesday is not impossible, it is improbable. The likelihood that she will win those large states by 20 percentage points is, well, unlikely.

Even if she wins Ohio and Rhode Island (which is her best shot at this point), losing Texas, or even winning by a slim margin will not help her. In terms of the delegate count and the proportional allocation rules of the Democratic Party it is almost inevitable that Obama will clinch the nomination.

He's likely to win Vermont, he's in a dead heat in Texas, and in my home state of Ohio he is catching ground.

The only hope (that's right! - hope!) for the Hillary fans is that the polls are all wrong. The second hope is that Obama chooses her as V.P. Yet, that is unlikely since she likely refuses to be second fiddle. Still, for the sake of the party (and basically ensuring a Democratic victory in November) Howard Dean should urge Obama and Hillary to consider that option.

Still, my prediction holds and now we will truly see if White support for Obama continues throughout November or if it will wane as history predicts.

As for V.P., it will likely be a White Male Foreign Policy expert on Obama's side. While Gov. Richardson would be a good choice, there is only so much diversity America can take. The same goes for choosing a woman other than Hillary (e.g., the governor of Kansas).

Thoughts?

OBAMA AND HIGH EXPECTATIONS

2008-02-14T11:39:00.001-08:00

African American politicians who first ran for mayor in the nation's big cities in the 1960s and 1970s and won suffered a lot of backlash after being elected.

That backlash was primarily from African Americans, but it included others as well.

The problem was simple. The energy and excitement about a Black person occupying a major political office, generated extremely high expectations from the citizenry in terms of what could be accomplished.

If Barack Obama does indeed win the Democratic Presidential nomination and the the presidency of the United States, he will have to make good on the hope generated throughout the country. He claims his broad-based coalition will do that. I hope he is right. If not, (e.g., if there is too much White or Republican opposition), even if Obama tried as hard as possible, history suggests he will be blamed for the failures (similar to how current Democratic leadership in Congress is blamed in polls for the alleged lack of responsiveness to solve items on the agenda voters are said to have elected them to solve in November 2006).

Although it would not entirely be his fault, (he doesn't give people high expectations, they create them for themselves), as the saying goes - "the buck stops at his desk."

As an Obama supporter and a political junkie, I hope his campaign is beginning to theorize and strategize about how to combat this potential backlash.

It is so endearing how Obama has managed to raise people's hopes in America again, I just hope (no pun intended) that his efforts, when President, are successful. And if not, that he is in a position to avoid history's hint.

At the end of the day, Obama has already done more inspirationally for this country than most could have imagined. We owe a debt to him and his vision for that. However, for the sake of his future success as a Black politician working on behalf of ALL Americans, it is my strongest wish that the high expectations he has played a part in generating are, first, still believed to be possible, yet at the same time, I hope supporters are prepared for the moments when it will not be.

Believe me, the opposition is.

Yes We Can Obama Song by will.i.am

2008-02-08T15:01:00.001-08:00

SI SE PUEDE!

The NAACP: Nigga What, Nigga Who and its Uselessness*

2007-07-02T15:08:00.001-07:00

It's official. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is totally useless. The NAACP has made as its 2007 Conference Theme, the STOP Campaign, where it is devoting its depleting financial resources to the false elimination of the word nigger in the dictionary.

Most who have been involved in the NAACP for years, like myself, and who are in their right mind, know how defunct the national organization has been for quite some time. Excellent leaders come and go, membership dwindles, and the only thing rising are crime rates, the number of blacks without health insurance, without a college education, and who can't vote as a result of felony disenfranchisement, just to name a few.

But, instead of focusing on issues in which they might have an impact, the organization has decided to spend precious dollars on a campaign to eliminate the word nigger. Now, about the word nigger. Yea, it's historically negative. But, it has since become a reclamation term by many blacks under the slang 'nigga.' It's cultural. You can't STOP cultural ramifications that occur under the radar screen.

Eliminating the word from the dictionary will in no way stop the word from appearing in music videos, in books to teach a lesson, or on our lips in everyday conversation. (let's face it, some people are simply niggas!) That the board at the NAACP can't figure that out proves its lack of connection with the changing enviornment, the up and coming young people, and basic social science.

This year's convention in Detroit, takes place in a state with barely an economy left, where less than 50% of blacks graduate high school, where the school system is on its last breath administratively, and violence increases in many areas. Perhaps these issues - issues found in many urban and black communities should be the NAACP's focus? I think if the NAACP focused on these issues, maybe people would be using the word nigger less! But, I guess that would take foresight and the realization that the methods of the victories from the 60s era simply no longer work.

The Board claims they got pushed out CEO Gordon because of his lack of understanding of civil rights issues . . . but, when will someone get rid of the Board for its lack of . . .well. . . .productivity over the past several years?????

Oh, and is it ironic that one of the poorest black cities in the country has one of the largest NAACP paid members' lists and is the host of next week's convention? Something irks me about taking poor people's money to focus on the word nigga as opposed to issues related to their livelihood!

In all seriousness, I want to know, what is something useful and positive and substantive and productive that the national NAACP has done for members, and/or society as a whole in terms of changing the socioeconomic status and political lives of people of color post the 60s? -- Please someone help me!

*Please note that my opinions of the national organization in no way reflect the positive things local chapters may be doing at the adult and collegiate levels to better the lives of people near them.

An Executive's Executive

2007-06-25T17:05:00.001-07:00

Once again our government has failed the basic test of common sense. Admirably and on schedule, President Bush requires all members of the executive branch to provide all documents - including classified documents to his office for his perusal. This typical act that usually takes place in presidential administrations tends to go on without a news story. However, in a post 9/11 world these types of routine acts get scrutinized - and I'm glad it is!

Our Vice President Cheny - the man most believe actually runs 1600 Pennsylvania Ave - has decided not to provide the documents claiming he is not a member of the executive branch! I guess he's a judge now, or maybe a senator? Maybe he forget about his two presidential campaigns?!?!? At any rate, instead of giving the documents in an era that reeks of the aftermath of the Libbey trial and conviction - his former chief of staff, Cheney decides to recommend that the office that requests the documents be abolished.

As bad as this looks for Cheney, the real issue is the fact that this is an executive order from Bush that can only be enforced by Bush. So, it is a repeated cycle of . . . . well. . . . nothing. Once again, the public feels insecure, our leaders feel above the law, and the public and Congress (deadlocked because the public decided to vote a narrow Democratic majority) can do nothing.

Even as a political scientist in training, I can understand why people would disaffect from politics altogether. If this is what they cite as reasons, who could blame them?

US Attorneys Fiasco-A Tangent to Real Concerns

2007-03-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

As partisan as I might appear to be to some people, this is an issue that seems daunting to me.

I simply don't get why Democrats and Republicans are spending so much time discussing the firings of 8 US Attorneys. OK, so maybe the Democrats are trying to add another appearence of bad ethics to the Republican side, but - give me a break - it's 8 people!

We have far more pressing issues as a country. If the concern really is someone's job security, how about we discuss unemployment rates, re-negotiate union contracts, pensions, and benefits for people. How about we talk about affirmative action - the job security for many underprivileged in this country!

But please, stop talking about these 8 US Attorneys. Let's spend time fighting homelessnes, child abuse, poor education in our schools, affordable health care and home ownership. There is just so much more important and relevant to our lives than 8 US Attorneys.

Now, all of this is rhetoric unless we all talk action and demand our elected representatives change their course of focus. So, that's my message. I hope to encourage you to press issues of relevance to your elected officials. Only then will government be effective.

GREAT News for HIVers!

2007-02-28T19:14:00.001-08:00

Wow.

It cannot be understated the joy of hearing news that scientific research can now add years of survival to HIV patients whose infection has been complicated by a resistance to the current available drugs on the market.

In other words, millions of people will have access to drugs that will add years of life!

Glory be to God!

See the New York Times story here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/health/28hiv.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Andrew Young Remark Unacceptable

2006-08-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Most who know me know that I believe self-criticism and valid constructive criticism of my own racial group is a healthy process. Thus, you should not be caught off-guard by this column criticizing former Ambassador and Mayor of Atlanta Andrew Young's comment to a black Los Angeles newspaper, where he used racially and ethnicially insentive language to refer to alleged ownership of stores in urban black communities by Jews, Koreans, and Arabs. His comment is completely unacceptable and I am pleased he found it necessary to resign his role with Wal-Mart as a chairman of a campaign to fix its image.

I just hope African American leaders will join me in condemning this remark, while still looking to Young's past great efforts on behalf of human rights for all for guidance with contemporary pressing issues.

Here's the article in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/business/18walmart.html?ref=us

Evacuations For White Americans

2006-07-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

I got to say it. I find it very interested how the United States couldn't find the resources or manpower to safely evacuate Americans from Hurricane Katrina - residents living within the continental United States; yet our country can find immediate means to evacuate American citizens in the worn torn Middle East, where Lebanon and Israel are currently at odds. Not only do Americans, most of whom are white, get evacuated safely, but most by plane, or luxurious cruise ships amidst bombings and chaos. Yet, somehow, a natural disaster that was predicted days before it occurred in a mostly poor and black area concentrated area in the United States can not have had the same effect.

Not only that, but the national news media makes pleas for the American Secretary of State, Ms. Rice, to immediately go to the Middle East to help address the war torn countries' concerns and to ensure the safe evacuation and care of American citizens through the Embassies -- another example of American errogance which suggests we, and only we, have the power of bridge divides in other places.

Does anyone remember the national media -- Anderson Cooper perhaps beside -- making pleas for national leaders to rush to the scene in the midst of Katrina?

Oddly Bush is right, as he articulated is his first ever speech to the NAACP - conveniently after he no longer needs conservative votes for re-election - when he said, racism still exists in this country and his party shares much of the blame for its political participation.

Still a Hometown Boy

2006-07-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, I will keep this brief, because most of you aren't from Toledo and likely won't care. However, the current mayor of the city of Toledo, OH, Carty Finkbeiner, (D), a white man who unseated the city's first black mayor, Jack Ford, (D), last November, recently called the Fire Chief, a black man "King Kong" in a staff meeting. The comment leaked to the press, creating a fiasco because of Mr. Carleton Finkbeiner's previous verbal and physical blunders as the mayor from 1993-2001.

Some might know the Trivial Pursuit board game and be aware of the mayor's former comment suggesting deaf people be moved to the airport?

The Fire Chief made a plea that people not make an issue of it, saying he did not think the mayor meant anything of it. He agreed with the mayor's statement to the press that he meant the comment to refer to his strength and stature as a man.

But, to me, this is another example of blacks being complacent about implicit racial behavior of white public officials and choosing to do nothing about it. I wrote a editorial that was printed in The Blade. See the web address:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/OPINION03/606040350&SearchID=73251045005445

You will also notice a woman's letter on the same page whose opinions are contrary to mine on this issue, and in my opinion, her examples are irrelevant. Also, most noticeably is the Mayor's own response -- a great political answer that does not acknowledge fault for the comment.

What do you think?

Black Males in Trouble? . . . .

2006-03-20T05:10:00.000-08:00

The March 20, 2006 article in The New York Times "Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn" is a good and bad thing. It's good because it statistically demonstrates the problems of black males in today's society on many fronts: education, employment, income, etc.

But, what's worse is the bad thing. With the NYT being an internationally read paper, it likely does more harm than good, as it may serve as a vehicle for continued discrimination, stereotypes, and stigma for our black male population in the United States.

I believe in the power of mass media, but, I guess, sometimes, I would prefer problems like these to remain "in house" and invite the media in when progress is being made, and the article can carry a serious, but more upbeat tone.

If problems begin at home, they should begin to be fixed at home -- not at major white institutions of higher education, that often times choose to increase the disconnect between their institutions and the community. These problems for the black male have been documented by non-major universities for decades, so it is nothing new (until major white university professors--yes, even people of color at such institutions like myself) begin to study the issue.

It's called applied academics. I'm excited to hear of the work being done. But, it's not new, and the article's title and content could have been more positive--yes, even given the bismal numbers.

We should be in the business of encouragement - - not discouragement.

Us and Illusions - Excellence and Ends in the Vineyard (Excerpt)

2006-01-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

One way to avoid going out this Morning with any Illusions or delusions is deliberately paying attention to avenues of devoting distinct deference to divine difference. Paying attention means doing as Dr. King, who dared with dignity and distinction to destroy discrimination! There’s no doubt Dr. King did not let political big wigs nor his personal political opinions, ethnicity, nor his religious adherence stop him from reaching beyond his comfort zones. Obviously, Rev. King knew the truth and wisdom behind the Nigerian proverb: “Fine words do not produce food.” He knew that food was in the fields and vineyards, not in mere words.

When will we start producing food? Yeah, listening to Dr. King’s words is nice. Reading his legendary speeches is fine. Going to King commemoration services yearly in early January - that’s all very good. But, doing just that won’t produce food! Like those annoying sitcom repeats, and the even more annoying pink energizer bunny, we have got to keep going and going and going and doing and doing and doing! As Dr. King says (and I’m quoting): “We’ve got to keep on keeping on, in order to gain freedom. It would be fortunate if the people in power had sense enough to go on and give up, but they don’t do it like that. It is not done voluntarily, but it is done through the pressure that comes from people who are oppressed.”

Therefore, those of us who are unemployed, those of us who are women, those of us who are short, those of us who are ugly, those of us who are not heterosexual, those of us who are poor, those of us who are black, those of us who are Christian, those of us plagued with a disease, infirmity, or disability . . . We’ve got to stop celebrating the past and start doing in the present for the future! I’m convinced! SOMEBODY IS HEARING ECHOES OF DR. KING TODAY! SOMEBODY IN HERE WANTS SOCIAL JUSTICE TO PREVAIL! SOMEBODY WANTS TO BE ASSURED THAT EVERY VOTE IS ACCURATELY COUNTED! SOMEBODY WANTS THE CHURCH TO PAY ATTENTION TO HIS OR HER NEEDS WITHOUT HAVING TO SHOW A W2 (as if the Prophet Malachi – MINISTERS!- was only talking about monetary offerings)! SOMEBODY WANTS TO SHOUT AND NOT BE SILENCED! SOMEBODY WANTS ADEQUATE LEGAL REPRESENTATION WHEN CHARGED WITH AN OFFENSE OR A CRIME!! SOMEBODY WANTS TO GET MARRIED IN THE EYES OF GOD AND NOT THE EYES OF THE GOVERNMENT!!! DON’T GO OUT THIS MORNING WITH ANY ILLUSIONS, ‘CAUSE A LOT OF SOMEBODYS IN HERE WANT TO SING WE HAVE OVERCOME!”

Please Don’t Leave from here this Morning SOS. You know what that stands for? “Stuck on Stupid” – Don’t leave here SOS - with illusions, delusions, feigned ignorance, and misconceptions of reality. Please! for God’s and humanity’s sakes! The multiple teachings of Dr. King caution us, as do I and our scriptural readings today: to BE AWARE, to wake up, and to pay attention. We hopefully have learned from the frustration in the 1950s and 1960s of the leading white Southern ministers like Alfred Dickinson, pastor of First Baptist and John Buchanan of Southside Baptist Church in Birmingham, whose disagreements often resulted from the precarious middle ground between hard-line segregationists and liberal integrationists.

Yet, some of us today still insist on being moderate as a way toward equality and social justice. Would this town be named Providence if Roger Williams had been a compromising moderate? What about other models such as Golda Mier, Mohandas Gandhi, Jane Addams, Patrick Henry, Victoria Mxenge, Jonathan Edwards, Mary Church Terrell, and Henry David Thoreau? Claiming to be in the middle or straddling the fence accomplishes little. As 13th Century Florentine writer and poet Dante Alighieri claims about the Inferno, “the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” If I’m standing on your toes - just say Ouch!

Good News, But Still a Bad Reality

2005-11-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

Today, The Associated Press at CNN.com reports " The rate of newly reported HIV cases among blacks has been dropping by about 5 percent a year since 2001, the government said Thursday. But blacks are still eight times more likely than whites to be diagnosed with the AIDS virus."

First, we should stop and be thankful for this reality. Yes, the racial disparity is still prevalent, but a consistent drop since 2001 is good news for a marginalized group who has enough stigma to face on a daily basis.

Second, we should take action, ask questions, join a campaign, press the issue for universal health insurance for American citizens. These steps will increase this good news ten-fold.

I hope news like this converts into action for readers

A Statistical Impossibility

2005-11-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

Our President, George W. Bush has the lowest approval rating in American history, currently at 35% according to a new CBS News Poll. But even more embarrassing is that Bush has the lowest approval rating in history for an American President by Latin America Elites, according to the US Embassy in Chile:

"Bush continued to be unpopular, with only 25 percent among the elites saying they had a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of him. Still, that represented an improvement. In 2003, Bush's positive rating was 12 percent."

Still, it gets worse. Bush has an approval rating among Blacks in America at 2% according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll from mid-October. With a 3% margin of error, that is a statistical impossibility. It is possible that Bush has -1% approval among African Americans, arguably the country's most mobilizing minority force.

America needs to understand, this is not just an all-time low from him, it's an all-time low ever!
This demonstrates that his policies are not globally liked, or minority liked. Oh and by the way, that's most of the world. People of color make up a majority of the world's population.

I leave it up to you to decide what this means.

Same Game

2005-11-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

Does anyone remember when Bush ran on a unifying, moderate Republican platform? Well, I do. I remember such members of his cabinent like Powell and Whitman, that were clearly representative of most Americans in their decisions, yet Bush undermined them for political clout.

Now, we have that same game being played. His new nominee to the Supreme Court simply laughs at any attempt to diversiy the bench that determines the laws that one of the most diverse countries in the world must live by. If confirmed, Alito, will be white man number 7 on the Court of 9 people. Liberal Ginsberg will be the only woman, and Conservative Thomas will be the only minority.

No matter one's qualifications, diversity should be of interest. This is no longer a nation of white men. Some scholars indicate in 2050, persons of Spanish descent (Latinos/Hispanics) will be the majority. Yet, we still have 70% of this critical body representing the good ole' boys network.

We need to wake up. Yes, America is great in many respects, but this lingering fact puts a cloud on the notion of objectivity for our judicial advocates.

A Day to Accurately Remember

2005-10-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

The legendary Rosa Parks passed away today. She was 92. This passing represents not only her shift from labor to reward, but the passing of a legend.

No, she was not a legend because she did not give up her seat. The history books need to clarify. She's a legend because of the plans successfully implemented before and after that led to the events concerning the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 382 days in 1955, resulting in the U.S. Supreme Court to consider segregation on busses illegal.

Mrs. Parks is an icon. As a laborer for peace, she worked for the NAACP and was trained how to handle situations such as physical protest safely. Her longevity of life suggests she did that very well.

Rosa Parks should be remembered not as black lady who refused to give up her seat after a hard day's work, as some of our history books claim. Yet, Rosa Parks should be remembered most for her behind the scenes efforts during the Civil Rights Movement. Not giving up your seat was not new when Rosa Parks came along--other women had done so but did not meet the successful, subsequent litigating criteria outlined by the NAACP for what they thought would generate a campaign to end segregation on busses.

If just refusal to give up your seat was all the criteria needed for her great memory, we would be calling several other women the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement." But, perhaps only Rosa Parks deserves that title.

She is a testament to the fact that the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States was not only about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but that many black women worked behind the scenes during an era of second class gender relations and understandings to get the job done.

Yes, our noted men leaders obviously did their part. But, behind each of them was a determined woman---whether it was a wife, a neighbor, a church member, or a friend. The woman proudly gave her all for the est of us to live better.

Drinking Fiasco

2005-10-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

This post will hurt. I don't wish to bring anymore negative light to a precarious situation in the Democratic Governor's nomination race in Ohio, but my impartiality allows me to do so. Today's news in the Toledo Blade (http://www.toledoblade.com), has included an article of Frankie Coleman, the wife of Columbus Mayor and Democratic Governor Contender Michael Coleman. Mrs. Coleman, a possible First Lady of Ohio, was charged with drunk driving after side-swiping a parked truck. Her blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.

This is the second mark of drunkiness on the Coleman Campaign. (http://www.colemanforohio2006.com)

The Colemans are black. Mr. Coleman, a friend of my family's, is running for Governor in a state that in some major cities, like his own of Columbus, and mine of Toledo are just coming around to seeing black executive leadership. He's running for Governor as a black man in the middle of a neo-conservative revolution in a state that is so important on the national scene. His race is not only watched in the state of Ohio, but nationwide. Ohio has voted with the successful Presidential candidate in every election since the 1960s and has 20 electoral votes, one of the largest in the nation. More Presidents have come from Ohio than any other state.

The nation has only seen one black governor, Wilder of Virginia, now Richmond's Mayor.

I hate to say it, but high-profile black candidates must be Angels when running for office in high profile races. Ohio's Governor's race is high profile because you have two black men running for their party's nomination: Secretary of State Blackwell, a Republican, and Coleman, a Democrat, among the usual white candidates. You also have the nationwide Tom Noe scandal and the lowest Governor's approval rating in the nation, bringing national attention to Ohio, the state where Toledo was the site of the "Tube War" of the November 2004 election, where Kerry and Bush spent more more in ads there than in any other market in the nation.

I wish Coleman the best and he does have my vote!! I also wish to work for his efforts, if he should ever call on me. I just hope to God, Ohioans are not fickle and see the campaign for its true face, and not today's news.

Buena Suerte!

Institutionalized Love

2005-10-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

In actuality, if we're being real with ourselves---every last one of us, from the oldest to the youngest, the strongest to the weakest, the most mature to the most immature—and everyone right in between---- we are all guilty of being stingy with the gifts and talents God has given us, we are all guilty of holding on to the things God has blessed us with and keeping them to ourselves, we are all guilty of not walking in the blessings God has for us, we are all guilty of saying "I love you" with no feeling, no meaning, no purpose, and not much thought. We've been institutionalized!

Some of us have old school habits, old beliefs, and out dated opinions, that we know we need to get rid of. Some of us have people in our lives, co-workers, neighbors, friends, family—that we know we don't act right around, who don't mean us good, but we fake like we love them anyway! EVEN, some of us have become so dependant on earthly love and alleged affection from friends, romance, or entertainment sources, that we have allowed ourselves to cheat one another and somebody else----telling somebody it's ok, when it wasn't, telling ourselves, it won't happen again, and it does, telling somebody I'll pray for you, and we don't, or even worse, telling somebody "God be with you," when you know you felt like saying something else.

Institutionalized Love is a love based on habit, based on thoughtlessness, based on words and not action, based on fear and constraints on change. But, we know love without manifestation is not authentic. For those of us not tithing, I'm going to say that again---love without manifestation is not authentic. Our challenge, then, is to keep our love fresh. Sermons, for example, are to speak to the heart, not to bathe in agreement and Amens. There is always a goal with a sermon—the goal is for you to leave better than you came—for your daily walk to be changed by the Word---just like the Bible was never intended to be separated into verses and chapters, sermons are not intended to be a habitual form of practiced concepts.

Fresh love is the opposite of institutionalized love.

Fresh love does a few things: it keeps your mind away from human error of judgment, for example, where we're too stubborn to go to church school because we think we have nothing new to learn. Fresh love keeps our attitude positive, where we recognize "I have only made it this far by God's twins grace and mercy!" Fresh love keeps us in the spirit of learning, understanding that Christianity is a fluid religion that depends on personal growth of its believers to thrive and flourish.

So, admit it, trying to be a Christian is hard, as we learned in the parable of the three servants. We are not yet Christ-like---that's a battle we try to win daily, praying and hoping one day the war we will win also. We don't get the Christian thing right half of the time. We forget that we are holy—that we are set apart from the rest. We forget that going to church is not enough, we forget that saying "I love you Lord" without manifestation doesn't cut it, we for get that spiritual bondage will not break us free. But, we have today, been given an opportunity!

It's time to cash that check of blessings God has waiting for you in His storehouse! It's time to understand God's love is tough---not easy. The glory of the Lord is knowing that His love is authentic. Ja Rule might say pain is love, Usher might say love was here, and the artist Nazareth might say love hurts, love scars, love wounds, but Kanye West says Jesus Rocks! Knowing that He's your bright and morning star, knowing that He's your wonderful counselor, your prince of peace. He's your lilly of the valley---you know that kind of commercial love is not fresh, is not genuine, is not authentic, it is not of God. The true manifestation of love to God and from God is up to you, not the critics.

Database of Social Justice Organizations

2005-10-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

NATIONAL

The ACLU is the nation's guardian of liberty. They work daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Their job is to conserve America's original civic values - the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
http://www.aclu.org/
Positions Available: Various

ADC is a grassroots civil rights organization which welcomes people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities as members. The ADC was founded in Washington, DC by U.S. Senator Jim Abourezk in 1980 Advisory Board members include: Muhammad Ali, Her Majesty Queen Noor, several U.S. Congressmen, Edward Said & Casey Kasem among others ADC has members in all 50 states - and it is the largest Arab American organization of its kind. The three cities with the largest concentrations of Arab Americans are: Los Angeles, Detroit, & New York.
http://www.adc.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The American Friends Service Committee carries out service, development, social justice, and peace programs throughout the world. Founded by Quakers in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian war victims, AFSC's work attracts the support and partnership of people of many races, religions, and cultures.
http://www.afsc.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The Anti-Defamation League
The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.
http://www.adl.org/adl.asp
Positions Available: Various

Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services is a human services organization committed to the development of the Arab American community in all aspects of its economic and cultural life. Staff and volunteers have joined forces to meet the needs of low income families, to help newly arrived immigrants adapt to life in America, and to foster among Americans a greater understanding of Arab Culture as it exists both here and in the Arab world. To achieve these goals, ACCESS provides a wide range of social, mental health, educational, artistic, employment, legal and medical services. ACCESS is dedicated, in all its efforts, to empowering (enabling) people to lead more informed, productive, and fulfilling lives.
https://www.accesscommunity.org/
Positions Available: Various

Arcus Foundation
The Arcus Foundation seeks to contribute to a pluralistic society that celebrates diversity and dignity, invests in youth and justice, and promotes tolerance and compassion. The foundation was formed in the belief that all individuals have a right and responsibility to full participation in our society and with the conviction that education and knowledge can be an antidote to intolerance and bigotry.
http://www.arcusfoundation.org/pages/home.shtml
Positions Available: Various

Association of Multi-Ethnic Americans, Inc.
AMEA's primary goal is to educate and advocate on behalf of multiethnic individuals and families by collaborating with others to eradicate all forms of discrimination. AMEA believes that every child, every person who is multiethnic/multiracial has the same right as any other person to assert a personal identity that embraces the fullness and integrity of
their actual ancestry, and that every multiethnic/multiracial family, whether biological or adoptive, has the same right to grow and develop as any other, and that our children have the right to love and respect each of their parents equally.
http://www.ameasite.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

CAMBIOS "means "changes" in the Spanish language. It was established in 1997 for the purpose of working with teachers, parents, and youth to address the issue of racism, and work towards its elimination. CAMBIOS has donated 50 multi-cultural books to 25 public and private elementary schools, in Lenawee County, Michigan. The mission of Cambios is to celebrate diversity and eliminate discrimination by providing educational
programs and resources.
http://www.cambios.org/
Positions Available: Various

Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL)
The mission of COOL (Campus Outreach Opportunity League) is to educate, connect and mobilize college students and their campuses to strengthen communities through service and action
http://www.idealist.org/ioc/
Positions Available: Various

The Center for Community Change is a progressive social justice organization whose central project is to support the emergence of one or more movements for social and economic justice in the U.S. The Center strives to transform the national debate and national politics as well as the institutions, economic systems and policies that affect low-income people and working class people, especially people of color.
http://www.communitychange.org/
Positions Available: Various

Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College
The Center for Corporate Citizenship provides leadership in establishing corporate citizenship as a business essential, so all companies act as economic and social assets to the communities they impact by integrating social interests with other core business objectives. Through its research, executive education, consultation and convenings on issues of corporate citizenship, The Center is the leading organization helping
corporations define their role in the community.
http://www.bc.edu/centers/ccc/index.html
Positions Available: Various

The Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ), established in 1984, promotes a free enterprise approach to global economic justice through expanded capital ownership. CESJ is a non-profit, non-partisan, ecumenical, all-volunteer organization with an educational and research mission.
http://www.cesj.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Center for Healing Racism
With the avowed purpose of healing racism, the Center established the goals that would guide this achievement. These goals call for the creation of a safe and accepting environment in which people can explore issues of racism, recognize manifestations of racism, examine assumptions and beliefs about racism, understand the impact of racism on themselves and others, and receive the support and encouragement to begin the healing process. In addition, the Center recognizes the benefits derived from active coalition building with other groups and associations that share a commitment to racial justice.
http://www.centerhealingracism.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Civilrights.org
Home to socially-concerned, issue-oriented original audio, video, and written programming, civilrights.org is committed to serving as the online nerve center not only for the struggle against discrimination in all its forms, but also to build the public understanding that it is essential for our nation to continue its journey toward social and economic justice.
http://www.civilrights.org/
Positions Available: Various

Council on American-Islamic Relations
CAIR's vision is to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding. CAIR's mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp
Positions Available: Various

Days of Dialogue
A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to be a catalyst in the community problem solving process by creating dialogue on sensitive social issues among diverse community groups. By facilitating respectful, purposeful conversation on a broad range of public issues and public policies and topics, we foster understanding, and encourage
citizens to improve their quality of life through civic engagement.
http://www.daysofdialogue.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Facing History
For more than 27 years, Facing History has engaged teachers and students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development of the Holocaust and other examples of collective violence, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives.
http://www.facing.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers, Research

Families USA is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Working at the national, state, and community levels, we have earned a national reputation as an effective voice for health care consumers for over 20 years.
http://www.familiesusa.org/
Positions Available: Various

Fellowship for Reconciliation (FOR)
FOR seeks to replace violence, war, racism, and economic injustice with nonviolence, peace, and justice. They are an organization committed to active nonviolence as a transforming way of life and as a means of radical change. They educate, train, build coalitions, and engage in nonviolent and compassionate actions locally, nationally, and globally.
http://www.forusa.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Hope's Voice
Hope's Voice is a national HIV and AIDS organization committed to promoting the education and prevention of HIV and AIDS to young adults. Hope's Voice uses open dialog and peer-to-peer education, through both speaker appearances of young adults living with HIV and AIDS and progressive programs to send a crucial message: HIV and AIDS does not discriminate. Hope's Voice aims to raise awareness and help young adults create the social change that is needed to end this epidemic.
http://www.hopesvoice.org
Positions Available: Speakers, Volunteers

As America's largest gay and lesbian organization, the Human Rights Campaign provides a national voice on gay and lesbian issues. The Human Rights Campaign effectively lobbies Congress; mobilizes grassroots action in diverse communities; invests strategically to elect a fair-minded Congress; and increases public understanding through innovative education and communication strategies. HRC is a bipartisan organization that works to advance equality based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity, to ensure that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
http://www.hrc.org/

The Institute for Humane Studies was founded in 1961 by Dr. F. A. "Baldy" Harper, a former economics professor at Cornell University. Part of a generation that had lived through two devastating world wars and seen the rise of numerous totalitarian dictatorships, Harper set up an institute devoted to research and education in the conviction that greater understanding of human affairs and freedom would foster peace,
prosperity, and social harmony.
http://theihs.org/
Positions Available: Various

InterAction: American Council for Voluntary International Action "InterAction is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. With more than 160 members operating in over 100 countries, we work to overcome poverty, exclusion and suffering by advancing social justice and basic dignity for all.”
http://www.interaction.org/
Positions Available: Various

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.
http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/index.html
Positions Available: Various

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
MALDEF is the leading nonprofit Latino litigation, advocacy and educational outreach institution in the United States. MALDEF's mission is to foster sound public policies, laws and programs to safeguard the civil rights of the 40 million Latinos living in the
United States and to empower the Latino community to fully participate in our society.
http://www.maldef.org/
Positions Available: Various

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
http://www.naacp.org/
Positions Available: Various

The purpose of the National Association for Community Mediation is to support the maintenance and growth of community-based mediation programs and processes, to present a compelling voice in appropriate policy-making, legislative, professional, and other arenas, and to encourage the development and sharing of resources for these efforts.
http://www.nafcm.org/
Positions Available: Interns, Volunteers

The National Civic League (NCL)
America's original advocate for community democracy. It is a non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization dedicated to strengthening citizen democracy by transforming democratic institutions. NCL fosters innovative community building and political reform, assists local governments, and recognizes collaborative community achievement. NCL accomplishes its mission through technical assistance, training, publishing, research, and the All-America City Awards, America's original and most prestigious community recognition program.
http://www.ncl.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI)
A nonprofit leadership training organization based in Washington, D.C. Since 1984, NCBI has been working to eliminate prejudice and intergroup conflict in communities throughout the world.
http://www.ncbi.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The National Conference for Community and Justice
NCCJ's purpose is to transform communities to provide fuller opportunity and to be inclusive and just – through institutional change – by empowering leaders. NCCJ's programming facilitates community and interfaith dialogues, provides workplace consultations, youth leadership development, seminarian and educator training. Its nationally recognized research provides data and analysis to the evolving study of intergroup relations; and, its public policy works with government leaders and
advocates policies that reflect understanding and respect.
http://www.nccj.org/
Positions Available: Various

The National Lawyers Guild/Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice (a.k.a. Guild Law Center) is a national, non-profit, public interest law center that provides advocacy, representation, legal education and technical support to empower community and workers' rights groups and individuals seeking systemic change toward economic and social justice. The GLC was founded by the National Lawyers Guild to support the principle that economic justice and civil rights are inseparable.
http://www.sugarlaw.org/
Positions Available: Interns

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The Freedom Center offers lessons and reflections on the struggle for freedom in the past, in the present, and for the future. And it helps visitors discover the power of one voice - shared with many - by speaking out about the meaning of freedom.
http://www.freedomcenter.org/
Positions Available: Various

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
A Newark-based urban research and advocacy organization dedicated to the advancement of New Jersey's urban areas and residents. Established in 1999 by the Alan V. and Amy Lowenstein Foundation, the Institute provides a dynamic and independent voice for change necessary to create just, vibrant and inclusive urban communities throughout New Jersey. The Institute was formed in the belief that New Jersey's urban areas hold remarkable potential but also face dramatic challenges. Through thorough and independent analysis of barriers and identification and promotion of advantages, the Institute is committed to the undertaking actions necessary to effect positive change.
http://www.njisj.org/
Positions Available: Various

Nonviolence.org continues to be one of the most highly-visible and visited peace websites, being highly ranked through Gulf War II, the biggest U.S. military action since the web began. This model of independent activist web publishing is still critical and becomes more appreciated every day. The Nonviolence.org mission of featuring the best writing and analysis from a nonviolent viewpoint continues.
http://www.nonviolence.org/
Positions Available: Various

Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)
PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.
http://www.pflag.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The Peace and Justice Studies Association
PJSA works to create a just and peaceful world through: The promotion of peace studies within universities, colleges and K-12 grade levels; The forging of alliances among educators, students, activists, and other peace practitioners in order to enhance each other's work on peace, conflict and non-violence; The creation and nurturing of alternatives to structures of inequality and injustice, war and violence through education, research and action.
http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/index.php
Positions Available: Various

The National Rainbow/PUSH Coalition (RPC) is a multiracial, multi-issue, international membership organization founded by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., working to move the nation and the world toward social, racial and economic justice by uniting people of diverse ethnic, religious, economic and political backgrounds to make America's promise of " liberty and justice for all" a reality.
http://www.rainbowpush.org/
Positions Available: Various

Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute
The central mission is to motivate youth to reach their highest potential. The Institute has designed programs based on Mrs. Parks philosophy of "Quiet Strength" which engages youth in hands-on experiences to build practical day-to-day living skills. by promoting multicultural participation in the program to provide youth with a cross-cultural exposure for nurturing a global and inclusive perspective.
http://www.rosaparks.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The Social Justice Center
A nonprofit office center cooperatively-owned by Madison Community Co-op, the Tenant Resource Center, Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund and Wisconsin Community Fund. The building houses the offices of the four founding organizations, plus offices of other nonprofits (in the incubator space on the lower level). There is also a community meeting room available for use by the organizations in the building, as well as outside
nonprofits, when sponsored by one of the four member organizations.
http://www.socialjusticecenter.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 as a small civil rights law firm. Today, the Center is internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups.
http://www.splcenter.org/index.jsp
Positions Available: Various

Swirl
Swirl aims to unite the mixed community by providing support to mixed families, mixed individuals, transracial adoptees, and inter-racial/cultural/faith couples. Through various educational and social events, Swirl is a meeting place for members of the mixed community to celebrate and explore their heritages.
http://www.swirlinc.org/nflash.htm
Positions Available: Volunteers

Triangle Foundation is Michigan's leading organization serving gay, lesbian, transgender, and allied communities.
http://www.tri.org/
Positions Available: Various

The United States Branch of the International Association of Educators for World Peace. IAEWP promotes international understanding and world peace through education and developing new and innovative educational strategies and pedagogies dedicated to the pursuit of peace, social justice concerns, and current challenges to the maintenance and extension of peace around the globe.
http://www.iaewp.us/
Positions Available: Various

The Urban Institute measures effects, compares options, shows which stakeholders get the most and least, tests conventional wisdom, reveals trends, and makes costs, benefits, and risks explicit.
http://www.urban.org/
Positions Available: Research

The Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.
http://www.nul.org/
Positions Available: Various

Volunteer.Gov/Gov consolidates volunteer opportunities available in the public sector, including: the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of New York Division of Veterans Affairs. This online service lets prospective volunteers match their interests and abilities with available opportunities nationwide through searches based on volunteer activity, location of opportunity, effective date of the opportunity, the sponsoring partner and by keyword search. In the future, Volunteer.Gov/Gov will expand to include other channels for volunteer service to all levels of government.
http://volunteer.gov/gov
Positions Available: Volunteers

Women Organized to Make Abuse Nonexistent, Inc. (W.O.M.A.N., Inc.)
A community-based, multi-service agency, was created in 1978 as a two bedroom shelter for battered women. The organization quickly realized that additional options were needed by women who, for many reasons, did not want to enter shelters. In 1979, the Crisis-Line was created, and immediately began receiving approximately 25-30 calls per month -- we now receive over 18,000 a year! Soon after the Crisis-Line was instituted,
the agency also began providing individual counseling and support groups.
http://www.womaninc.org/
Positions Available: Various

The Young Politicians of America is a service-learning movement composed of young Americans aged 14-22 working together to revive political discourse and awareness by establishing nonpartisan civic clubs in high schools and colleges. They deliver their services and spread their mission through an innovative Service-Chapter program.
http://www.ypa.org/
Positions Available: Various

GLOBAL

African Counseling Association
A network of counsellors and counsellor educators with an interest in counselling in Africa. Develop counselling theory and practice that is appropriate for the African context. Form working relationships with counselling organizations both in and outside of Africa. Disseminate information on counselling, counsellor education and counsellor supervision. Recognize the achievement of African counsellors.
http://www.geocities.com/kim1122a/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AIís vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.
http://www.amnesty.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

The Centre for Social Justice is an advocacy organization that seeks to strengthen the struggle for social justice, committed to working for change in partnership with various social movements and recognize that effective change requires the active participation of all sectors of our community. Based in Ontario, CSJ work increasingly extends across Canada and into the international arena.
http://www.socialjustice.org/
Positions Available: Various

CorpWatch counters corporate-led globalization through education, network-building and activism. They work to foster democratic control over corporations by building grassroots globalization a diverse movement for human rights and dignity, labor rights and environmental justice.
http://www.corpwatch.org/index.php
Positions Available: Various

The Ford Foundation is a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide. Our goals are to: Strengthen democratic values, Reduce poverty and injustice, Promote international cooperation and Advance human achievement. This has been our purpose for more than half a century. Created with gifts and bequests by Henry and Edsel Ford, the Foundation is an independent organization, with its own board, and is entirely separate from the Ford Motor Company.
http://www.fordfound.org/
Positions Available: Various

The Global Justice Movement (GJM) seeks to present well thought out alternatives to traditional globalization efforts. GJM emphasis is on inclusiveness and abundance for all, rather than a continuance of outmoded thinking and institutions. In particular, GJM examines and presents alternatives to the present money system.
http://www.globaljusticemovement.org/
Positions Available: Various

Jubilee USA Network consists of over 60 organizations including labor, churches, religious communities and institutions, AIDS activists, trade campaigners and over 9,000 individuals are active members of the Jubilee USA Network. Jubilee is a strong, diverse and growing network dedicated to working for a world free of debt for billions of people.
http://www.jubileeusa.org/
Positions Available: Various

The Social Justice Committee of Montreal
The mission of the Social Justice Committee is to: Analyze the underlying structural and global causes of poverty, human rights violations and other social injustices ; Contribute to informed popular participation in eliminating these injustices ; Work in solidarity to transform our world into a just society.
http://www.s-j-c.net/Main.htm
Positions Available: Volunteers

UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique among those working with the young.
http://www.unicef.org/
Positions Available: Various

The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Founded in 1915 during World War I, with Jane Addams as its first president. WILPF works to achieve through peaceful means world disarmament, full rights for women, racial and economic justice, an end to all forms of violence, and to establish those political, social, and psychological conditions which can assure peace, freedom, and justice for all. WILPF works to create an environment of political, economic, social and psychological freedom for all members of the human community, so that true peace can be enjoyed by all.
http://www.wilpf.org/
Positions Available: Various

Southeast Michigan

The Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace was formed shortly after September 11, 2001, to promote peaceful solutions to international conflicts and to protect civil rights and civil liberties. The Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace (formerly Ann Arbor Ad Hoc Committee for Peace) was founded by a small group of concerned residents desiring to carve out the space for principled dissent, promote nonviolent solutions to international conflicts, and advance friendship and understanding between people of all faiths and nationalities.
http://justpeaceinfo.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Avalon Housing is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and managing permanent rental housing for people with extremely low incomes in Washtenaw County. Avalon owns and operates 143 units of housing, scattered at a dozen sites throughout Ann Arbor. Rents are structured to be affordable to people with incomes at or below 30% of the area median income, and the majority of tenants include people who were homeless and who have a mental or physical disability. Support services are available to all tenants in order to assist them in maintaining their housing stability and enhance their quality of life.
http://www.avalonhousing.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Focus: HOPE
A nationally recognized civil and human rights organization in Detroit, Michigan. Our mission is to use intelligent and practical action to fight racism, poverty and injustice. Achievements include: A food program for eligible mothers, children, and senior citizens, Education and training in manufacturing, engineering, and information technology, Arts
programs to increase understanding of different cultures, Children's day care and education, A manufacturing operation that gives students hands-on work experience Conference facilities Volunteer and outreach initiatives
http://www.focushope.edu/
Positions Available: Various

Food Gatherers exists to alleviate hunger and address its root causes in our community by: reducing food waste through the rescue and distribution of perishable and non perishable food; coordinating with other hunger relief providers; educating the public about hunger; and developing new food resources.
http://www.foodgatherers.org/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Ginsberg Center
Through programs, initiatives and publications, the Ginsberg Center strives to engage students, faculty members, university staff, and community partners in a process which combines community service and academic learning in order to promote civic participation, build community capacity, and enhance the educational process.
http://www.umich.edu/~mserve/
Positions Available: Volunteers

SOS Community Services
We are a 501(c)3, non-profit organization that serves homeless families and children and others in crisis in Washtenaw County. Founded in 1970 by students at Eastern Michigan University, SOS has evolved from its roots as a peer-counseling program into an agency whose comprehensive services assist families in their move from homelessness to self-sufficiency and permanent, stable housing. Today, SOS occupies four program and administrative sites in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
http://comnet.org/local/orgs/sos/
Positions Available: Volunteers

Foreign Country Intersexuals

2005-10-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

I don’t think it is easy for American students to label other countries' cultural practices, which they inherently label as below the “American” standard, with the possibility of it being something positive that Americans could learn from. This points to a “cockiness” attitude about American intelligence and superiority that I don’t think most are willing to admit that we are socialized to think accordingly.

There appears to be this notion that Americas have nothing left to learn from and that if we haven’t found the proper way to handle the situation, then it isn’t out there. This is true as you compare Canadian and American prescription drug availability and costs. The FDA argues that Canada’s policies would pose a risk to us, when in reality there is no evidence to suggest that claim is true, and the real setback and delay with cheaper drug costs is governmental bureaucratic interests.

I have always found it very odd that we all claim a child's birth in a nature and/or God-intended event; yet attempt to change its course when it doesn’t meet our socialized guidelines for normalcy and doesn't pose an “acceptable” future matriculation in society. It’s as though we are admitting as parents, that we choose not to raise a child naturally born unique from others due to a social pressure we create.

While I think parents should be able to choose whatever they wish to do as a result of being informed of a possible intersexed child, I do think that decision should be made alone, with the parents, and the child, without medical, family, and other social influences. I think this because in the end, it is only the parents and the child who need to be content and comfortable with the decision being made. The doctor will be forgotten and any real, trustworthy, loving family members will be content as long as the parents and child are happy with the choice.

I speak from lived experience, which I think can relate to this idea. I was born premature, weighing 1 pound, 15 ounces in 1982. Against medical advice and odds, my Mother choose to touch me every night nearly for 6-8 months while I was hospitalized before I could go home. She would pick me up from my incubator, sing, and nurture me while in the hospital. My Mother knew the importance of human touch well before the medical profession and the higher education profession would accept the reality. If it were not for her choice, I likely would have died from medical advice and ignorant socialization of the times from family member suggestions.The same applies to parents facing intersexed children unexpectantly at birth. Loving your child is more important that loving your social system.

Toledo Mayoral Debate Questions

2005-10-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

1).Who/What is to blame for the multi million deficit inherited by Mayor Jack Ford when he assumed office in 2001?

2). We have heard use of the party labels Demorcat and Republican by each of the candidates on stage. Please describe what makes you a member of either party, and your definition of being such a member.In other words, How/Why are you a Democrat? What makes you a Democrat? The same for the Republican Party candidates.

3). With the image of neighboring Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick on the line, with national news media like Time Magazine calling him one of America's Worst Mayors and criticizing his "hip hop" image, how important do you think the image of the Mayor of Toledo is to the broader community, state and federal officials?

4).What state and federal connections and relationships do you have and with whom? Toledoans understand much of the City's funding for various projects comes from state and federal sources. How/Whom can you lobby on the state and federal level to work on behalf of Toledo.

An Article I'd Read

2005-10-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Dear The Blade:

Please consider this idea from an avid-daily online reader:

I strongly believe The Blade should do a long article on "What Makes You a Democrat?" for the Democratic candidates for Mayor, and "What Makes You a Republican? for Mr. Ludeman, before the Primary.Toledoans know there are three candidates that claim they are Democrats.

However, The Blade may consider asking each candidate in an article (not debate forum, because the opportunity to answer in depth is not there). What makes them a Democrat? Why are they Democrats?How are your policies (in action) or planned, Democratic policies? With both national parties redefining themselves over the last several years, a local highlight of this nature is appropriate.

The same should be asked of Mr. Ludeman. In a tense political election, I think it will prove significant the differences the candidates draw when they response to these are similar questions.

Parochial Change

2005-10-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Wilkowski was right during his mayoral primary campaign about the need for change in Toledo. However, the type of change is still under question. Change occurs with the constituents, the voters. When less than a majority of voters (and worse only 22%) of citizens vote in an election--whether primary or general, Toledo can never expect to grow. This suggests, no matter who is elected, a majority of voters do not care and likely during that elected official's term, he will be criticized by the majority--those non-voting citizens.

It is not the Mayor's or Council's job to take charge in Toledo--they only represent what we want. Toledoans should be embarrassed. To talk about change is one thing (which Toledoans have done for decades), but to foster change is another, and the only way to do that is by voting.

This recent primary is a sad day for any true lovers of representative government, whether your candidates made it through or not.

A Serious Question

2005-10-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Question for 11/1/05 Toledo, OH Mayoral Debate

What makes you a Democrat? How have you and do you plan to use that party affliation with the state and national party to benefit the City?

Preemptive Strike

2005-10-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the phrase "ignorance is bliss" may best describe city residents and officials' initial hopes and intentions in regard to resident action at the Nazi sidewalk Rally in Toledo last Saturday. Yet, as a black man, I am insulted at the characterization that protestors to Nazis rallying are "ignorant." Some of The Blade's previously published letters to the editor include such phrasing in the title and body of the letter. These people, largely African American, were not ignorant. They were violently emotional. It's not acceptable, but ignorance is the wrong choice of grammar.

If they were ignorant of the event or their planned actions, they would not have known about it, effectively garnered intragroup support and did what they did. While their violence can not be supported, most of the arrestees were under the age of eighteen. Where were the parents and guardians?

While what the mostly juevenile crowd chose to do is not positive, it is simply a version of preemptive strike that turned ugly. Their aggression toward racial sensitivities turned to police. Again, while not the best option, with a mostly white police force, and mostly black crowd, that outcome is plausible.

Comparably, preemptive strike worked in Iraq, some say, and now it has turned ugly. Maybe we have finally learned our lesson.

Democrat or Not?

2005-10-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Does party affiliation only matter on the national electoral level? I don't think so. In cities heaviliy Democratic in our region, like Toledo, Ann Arbor and Detroit, that title more often than not, helps you win. But. in this Toledo Mayoral election and the last in 2001, we have two Democrats running against each other. What makes Finkbeiner a Democrat? What makes Ford a Democrat? Perhaps campaign contributions to fellow elected officials? Length of time as a member of that party? Strong affiliation with party leadership at the state and national level? Policies and initiatives?

These are questions no debate has asked, and no media have offered. But, Toledo should not take the logo "Democrat" for granted. Someone should ask the candidates what it means to them.

Fishy Business

2005-10-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

Is it a coincidence that the Schyck household that allegedly was responsible for the Nazi group having information that prompted their visit to Toledo last Saturday, has a "Carty Gets Results" sign in his yard, as Carty runs for Mayor again on a premise of increased black gang violence?

Sounds fishy that the Nazi protest riots which occurred resulted in only black gang violence, in a tight race for Mayor, where the City's 24% black population will be a key determinant in the race.

Misleading Media Presentations

2005-10-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

Mr. Troy:

I question your characterization of Carleton Finkbeiner as the "leading candidate" in Toledo's Mayor's race. (Toledo Blade, 10.5.05) "Finkbeiner criticizes radio host's comments" With primary percentages as low as they were, that unofficial title gives voters a biased image that journalism is not supposed to do.

I am sure you know the empirical evidence that suggests the media and journalists like yourself have an effect, (via their question wording and presentation of media coverage in campaigns) to contribute negatively or positively to candidates during elections--especially local ones in cities with one major route of access to print news. I am sure you know most Americans read only headlines and the first paragraph of news articles, also.

In a four-way primary, with very low turnout figures, and telephone polls with high sampling errors and questions of over or under representation of certain groups, the title of "leading candidate" is not just, nor politically accurate. Also, telephone polls economically disadvantage lower income residents who may not have phones. And, with the precinct vote of the primary, we know which historically-labeled disadvantaged group(s) are likely to vote for whom.

It's amazing how Carty is ethnically sensitive in election time, and physically overbearing to various groups when he's not a candidate, but an elected official.

Bush's Funny Numbers

2005-10-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

HIV/AIDS Domestic Allocation and President George W. Bush:
Lives Hanging in the Balance

The media and the Whitehouse praise President George W. Bush for his efforts on the domestic front to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But, then I pulled out my books. Globally, says the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, developed countries have an obligation on historical grounds to provide monetarily for other countries. Both President Bush and former President Clinton make seemingly large global commitments to the cause; however, the domestic numbers for the current President are misleading.

Current government officials don't help to clarify either. Vice President Cheney publicly admitted in his debate with former Sen. John Edwards in the 2000 presidential race that he knew nothing of the epidemic's effect on African Americans, especially women. And, Bush's pledge, first mentioned publicly in his 2003 State of the Union address, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Leavitt's label of HIV/AIDS as a "top priority," upon Bush's recommendation to extend the Ryan White Care Act (RWCA) earlier this summer, have not yet become reality.

According to the Black AIDS Institute, the RWCA increased yearly under Clinton, and has decreased with Bush, with the President increasing international aid, and decreasing domestic aid. They claim, in accordance with Bush's 2003 pledge to increase global spending by $15 billion by 2008, the 2005 budget recommendations by the President did call for an increase in RWCA funding, but most was international and 75% went to "core medical services"—a concept not defined, posits editor Kai Wright. In addition, they demonstrate, the budget indirectly cuts many related services like transportation, prescriptions drugs, and food banks that are critical to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Johns Hopkins University AIDS Service says the RWCA, originally passed 8.18.90 by Congress is "designed to improve the quality and availability of care for persons with HIV/AIDS and their families," and that the Act is separated into four titles based on metropolitan rates, individual need, and medical support available. The Bush Administration and the Republican National Committee claim "The President's continued commitment to combating HIV/AIDS domestically is reinforced in his budget for FY 2005 with $17.1 billion in funding for domestic AIDS research, care, prevention, and treatment—an increase of 27% since 2001." But this is very misleading.

In comparison with his predecessor, Bush has done an exceedingly bad job of leveling domestic HIV/AIDS funding. Being a discretionary item, by law, the RWCA must be re-evaluated and extended every five years, with yearly caps on spending, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation. While Bush requested 19.8 billion for domestic and global funding for 2005, that is less than a 1% of the total federal budget, and only a 7% increase since 2004. Other entitlement social programs like Medicaid (the largest health coverage option of people living with HIV/AIDS), Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income received 51% of the funds or $10.1 billion, and 49% was discretionary.

Increase in funding is not novel, and should not be applauded, yet analyzed critically. My calculations, comparing the Clinton and Bush Administrations in their domestic commitment to Title II (HIV Care) of the RWCA, which allocates funds to extend and save the lives of HIV infected persons, suggest Clinton, on average increased HIV Care funding by 30.9% and total RWCA funding by 24%. Bush, on average, increased HIV Care by 5.7% since 2001, and total RWCA spending by 3.5%. The 27% he and the GOP account for, is the total of percent increase in total RWCA funding since 2001, not the average per year. For Clinton, that figure is 191.7%. (HRSA, Dept. of Health and Human Services RWCA Appropriations History: FY 1991 to FY 2005).

Bush has improved in other areas, however. The FDA approved Viread for HIV-1 infection in 2001, a new rapid HIV test kit in 2002, a new therapy, Aptivus, for HIV patients with advanced disease in June 2005, and just this month the first pediatric generic drug for U.S. marketing. Still, Bush Administration problems, with the commissioner of the FDA, Lester M. Crawford, resigning this month, may affect the FDA's implementation of these new policies.

With Katrina, Rita, and Iraq, it's doubtful to expect Bush to make significant changes in his appropriations of the RWCA or sustaining HIV + citizens' lives. Not only does his less than 1% of the federal budget allocation of HIV/AIDS funding severely under-estimate the scope of the epidemic, but it leaves lives in the balance.

Take a Trip and Get a Grip

2005-10-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

Take a Trip and Get a Grip

Perhaps the reason people can support Carty over Jack for Mayor is because they don't have the opportunity or choose not to travel. If one did, one would see, with Jack in office, Toledo has done one of the better jobs in the entire country given its economic constraints to re-build a legacy lost long ago when downtown first began to fade.

Nearly every city Toledo's size and in the Midwest region of the U.S. has done worse than Toledo in critical areas of importance: jobs for city workers, taxes, downtown development, ethics, safety and fire workers, etc.

Perhaps if people had the chance to leave Toledo they could see and compare and judge accordingly and fairly. Yet, it might be Bush's tax cut for the benefit of the rich, and the national deficit, that results in squeezing the middle class that prevent people to see reality.

But, please, whatever the reason, have a conscience, have a true Democratic conscience, vote for Jack.

Delay Judicial Ethics

2005-10-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Delay's demand for a non-Democratic judge, as a prominent former national leader in representative government signals strong problems with our Constitutional assumption of non-partisan judicial advocacy. If Delay does not believe a Democratic judge would be impartial and non-partisan in a hearing, why should we believe a Republican judge would be more impartial?

This poses serious questions beyond the Delay case. Largely nationwide, if judges are elected and selected based on record and not partisan affiliations, why does and should partisan support and contributions matter once cases are heard by that judge? Perhaps, we should stop covering up the truth; conservative presidents nominate conservative judges, and this dichotomy trickles down to the local level. The variability of conservative differs as we've learned with Souter and O'Connor, but they're conservative nonetheless. Conservative, in today's political lingo means "Republican."

Let's be honest: Republicans back Republicans, Democrats back Democrats, it's the beauty and fallacy of a two-party system. A robe or title doesn't erase one's politics.